How One Miami Restaurant Embraced Direct Online Ordering
About to head into Miami’s peak season, the family-owned Salvadoran restaurant El Atlakat was doing really well. “And then all of sudden this hit and we had 60% less revenue,” says Manager Katty Chavez.
“We did have pick-up before, which made up about 30% of our total sales,” she says, explaining that the closure of dining rooms left her scrambling to find a way to offer takeout more effectively than over the phone but also not cut into her profits. “We were hearing from other business owners that all these delivery services – Uber Eats and Postmates – weren’t reducing their delivery fees due to COVID.”
Katty also looked at making her own online ordering platform, but the cost was too high and the timeline too long. “And then our POS provider magically appeared with an online ordering solution and saved the day,” she says, explaining that it only took an hour to get up and running. “We literally did a happy dance when we received our first order.”
Because the online ordering platform allows customers to order directly from a restaurant’s website, Katty was able to offer her diners convenience without losing a cut from each order.
““We used to be completely overwhelmed with takeout orders over the phone. Now
our customers choose to order on our website since they don’t have to wait and
they can prepay. It frees up our phone lines and takes a lot of the pressure off our staff.””
But Katty says her choice wasn’t just about the cost. “I wanted as many of my employees to have jobs as possible,” she says. Some of El Atlakat servers transitioned to delivery drivers – at least one on from Monday to Wednesday, and then two when it gets busy Thursday through Sunday. “We raised our server hourly rate from $5.75 to $10 per hour, plus tips.”
Pick-up also continues to be a big revenue driver for El Atlakat right now, with customers taking advantage of their drive-thru window to maintain physical distance from staff and other customers. “The space used to be a Wendy’s,” Katty says, making the location ideal for contactless pick-up.
When asked what advice she would offer to other restaurants struggling, Katty says, “Listen to your customer. Have a conversation. Sometimes we get lost in trying to put out fires and we don’t open our ears. Entrepreneurs, restaurateurs, we’re used to moving, moving, moving. But it’s so important to take a deep breath and think things through very, very carefully.”