Helping restaurants grow in a post-pandemic world

Hosted by American Express Canada and technology company Square — which allows businesses to accept card payments and manage many aspects of their operation — the event featured well-known restauranteurs and chefs talking about the current challenges faced by the industry.

They touched on topics such as food inflation, rising rent costs, difficulty finding staff and the reality that many Canadians are cutting back on entertainment — including eating out.

“I want (my restaurants) to be a place where I can walk in, get cozy and feel transported somewhere else,” said Chef Craig Harding, who is behind local gems Bar Prima, La Palma and Constantine. “Discretionary spending is down, and people are going out to restaurants less. When they do go out, they are looking for a bit more, so we are trying to build on that.”

Laborie and Harding took part in the panel discussion with Toronto-based Chef Patrick Kriss, founder of the Alo Food Group — which includes Alo, Aloette and Alobar — and Derek Wasser of Ace Kosher, Pantry and The Food Dudes.

One recurring theme mentioned by several of the participants during the Culinary Creators Project’s panel was how automation is helping them to be more aware of their restaurants’ costs, performance and customer experience.

“We smartened up in tracking our spending,” Wasser said about how his establishments have adapted in a post-pandemic world.

Harding said that technology now allows all the systems at his three Toronto establishments to talk to each other, and that the information can also be uploaded to a cloud he can access at home. He said that has been amazing because he can now spend more time on the restaurant floor with his staff and thinking about customer experience than hidden away in his office.

“If I am not in the restaurant, I can still see at home what the guests are ordering, how long it has been between courses, and then all that stuff is also stored on the cloud so I can go back to it,” he said during the panel. “I can even know that one guest likes … a Manhattan or this certain glass of wine, so I know what to recommend to them. Having that information makes for a better guest experience.”

Head of Sales at Square Canada Karisa Marra hosted the panel discussion. She said the idea behind the event — which also featured delicious food — was about celebrating the culinary community and also allow for collaboration and a chance to learn from each other.

“Restaurant owners post-COVID are running, they don’t have time to pause, or reflect, or share or collaborate — but they have so much to offer each other,” she said.

She points to Harding’s example of how mobile point-of-sale and business tracking technologies, like Square, have helped him focus on growing his business as one key lesson that those just starting out as culinary entrepreneurs were able to take away from the event.

“We were speaking to a restaurant recently and they were comparing the system to the plumbing in a building. A good point-of-sale system allows everything to flow seamlessly, and you never have to think about it. Instead of focusing on how to run the business, you are thinking about how to grow and innovate it,” Marra said.

“You can say, ‘I know exactly what this customer likes. They like this because they had it here last time. So, let’s build on that experience for them.’ And that will continue to bring them back and maybe even dig deeper or come out an extra time that month because that experience is so special to them.”

Vice President and General Manager of Merchant Services at American Express Canada, Kerri-Ann Santaguida, said the event was also an opportunity for American Express and Square to showcase how they are also key ingredients in a restaurant’s success.

“This event connected the restaurant community to the great work that we do with them every day and gave them the opportunity to share their knowledge and showcase some amazing culinary experiences,” she said.

And, said Santaguida, because Square accepts American Express seamlessly, as a result this helps customer payments run smoothly, empowering restaurant owners to achieve their goals no matter where they are in their entrepreneurial journey.

“We want restaurant entrepreneurs to know that anytime they use Square as part of their restaurant services, that American Express is part of that experience,” she said. “We can bring our high-spending card members and our dynamic card member base into their restaurants.”

Visit Square.ca for more information on how Square Canada can help start, run and grow your restaurant.