“ If you look at the course of the last two-and-a-half years , the restaurant industry has been incredibly resilient ,” Comparato told CNBC earlier this year . “ We ’ re making sure that our merchants and restaurants are ready to adapt and be resilient . Restaurants continue to struggle with staff shortages , food inflation , and how to engage their team . Our platform helps our customers strengthen their position on those three dimensions .”
Despite the challenges of the past few years , restaurants are beginning to bounce back . More consumers are dining out again , and food delivery is a long-term trend that will prevail because of its overwhelming convenience to customers . Inflation poses a new threat – both in terms of business rates , but also consumer budgets facing greater pressure – though research from restaurant marketing company Popmenu suggests that almost 60 % of US consumers were dining out more last year , despite rising menu prices .
Toast continues to add more restaurants Toast ’ s system helps restaurateurs to reduce ticket times by up to
“ Restaurants have been incredibly resilient but they continue to struggle with staff shortages , food inflation , and how to engage their team ”
40 %, connecting the kitchen with the front-of-house to ensure that no tickets are lost and orders are picked up accurately . A bill-splitting feature allows diners to share the cost of a meal with others at their table , while handheld units let waiters put down their pad and pen .
Toast is trusted by nearly 80,000 individual restaurants , having added another 23,000 net new locations last year . It ’ s not just for big chains ; even for small franchises , Toast can help realise productivity savings and empower staff to turn over tables more quickly .
Explaining the value that Toast brings , Comparato recently told the Entrepreneur podcast : “ Our platform enables restaurant operators to deliver great guest experiences , whether it ’ s ordering off-premise through online ordering ; whether it ’ s ordering takeout ; whether it ’ s having a tremendous dining experience within the restaurant . We enable restaurants to deliver these fantastic experiences . We want to make sure that we ’ re freeing up their time and energy to do more of what they love .”
Today , Toast is a public company , having listed on the New York Stock Exchange in September 2021 as part of a successful IPO that valued the company at US $ 20bn and made all three of its original founders billionaires .
As for Comparato , he continues to lead the business as it recruits even more restaurants into the Toast ecosystem – or Toasters , as the company calls them . His name gives some clues to his Italian heritage , and subsequently his favourite type of cuisine when he decides to eat out . “ Italian of course ,” he says .
June 2023 | fintechmagazine . com 21