Square technology checked all the boxes for KOR Street Food, from staffing and operations to inventory and expansionSupplied
Restaurateur Daniel Han likes to think big. His bold vision is to bring healthy Korean street food across the Prairies in the coming years, and he is confident he’s picked the right technology to help get him there.
KOR Street Food, an Alberta-based restaurant chain, currently has two locations – one on 32nd Avenue NE in Calgary, which features a brick-and-mortar dine-in experience, and the other with an express menu located in the city’s Market Mall food court – but Han and his team plan to expand to upwards of 10 times that number in the next five years.
“Our vision for KOR is not to have two or three locations,” says Han. “We’re looking at having 10 to 20 locations in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba by 2027.”
Like many restaurant owners, Han had very specific criteria for what he was looking for in a point-of-sale system. The decision to go with Square came down to ease of use, the technology’s ability to grow with the business, and the fact that it can integrate with other software.
“We wanted a payment solution provider that had a pretty big share of the marketplace, the best integration with other software, and featured the capabilities that I was specifically looking for,” says Han.
Since KOR focuses on delivering great food, quickly and conveniently, Han says Square’s positive impact on the customer experience, coupled with the ability to expand easily and effectively, made it the right choice for his business.
“One reason we thought Square would serve us well and bring the level of excellence we want to deliver to our customers was allowing our customers to order directly online from our website, and we can do that with this system,” Han says.
Being able to offer this convenience is an important part of any foodservice business’s bottom line these days. According to Square’s recent “Future of Restaurants 2022″ report, restaurants that offer online ordering say an average of 39 per cent of their revenue currently comes from those channels. The survey also points out that 14 per cent of customers say they would avoid an establishment that didn’t offer online ordering.
Square helps KOR deliver a seamless customer experience, allowing customers to order takeout directly from the restaurant's websiteSupplied
KOR uses several software offerings from Square, such as Square for Restaurants Plus and the Online Store, to help the team manage the day-to-day of the business. Han himself was able to set up options like gift cards and scheduling on the system. He says he was amazed at how easy it was to do without the need to call in for tech-support (although that’s always an option).
“I thought everything was well-made, easy to understand and easy to configure on my own,” says Han.
“I’ve had experiences in the past,” he continues, “where tech issues create such a big bottleneck. That wasn’t the case here. It was great to be able to do it myself and not have to wait to get help because, like any business owner knows, time is money.”
Even the staff at KOR are benefitting from the convenience of Square as they can download the Timecards App on their smartphones and have their schedule at their fingertips. “Staff can easily see when they’re working, it sends out a notification when a shift is coming up, and they can do things like apply for vacation through the app,” says Han.
From staffing and operations to inventory and expansion, Han says he looked at technology solutions on the market and knows he selected the right one. “Square just checked the boxes for all the things we were looking for.”
What really gave Square the edge, though, comes back to Han’s ambitious target of expanding across three provinces within the next five years. In the early days of KOR, Han shared the expansion plan with the Square sales representative he was working with. The demonstration he received about the ease of setting up a new location is what ultimately won him over.
“When the salesperson showed me how little work I have to do to get a new point-of-sale system set up in a new location, it was a total game changer,” he recalls. “All the menu items and other elements I’ve set up from another location are carried over to new spaces, making it incredibly easy for us to do.”
To find out more about Square, visit www.square.ca.
Advertising feature produced by Globe Content Studio with Square. The Globe’s editorial department was not involved.