Entrepreneurs Joe Correia and John Dantzler had been brewing beer in the Bronx for more than a decade when they decided to expand their operation into a 9,000-square-foot space in lower Manhattan. The original opening date was delayed because of the coronavirus, but in October 2020, they opened Torch & Crown Brewing Company which became a fast favorite in New York City’s brewery and restaurant scene. The massive facility could accommodate as many as 440 guests over two floors, with both indoor and outdoor dining. On a typical week, they might empty about 20 kegs of beer and do 3,000 covers — and even more during events.
When the city shut down and restricted indoor dining later that year, Torch & Crown started using Square for order delivery and pickup. Then, when it was time to reopen for indoor dining and events in the summer of 2021, the co-founders chose to grow with Square, the same technology partner that had helped them keep their business thriving during the pandemic.
Torch & Crown Brewing Company currently uses:
Convenience for every team member
Square for Restaurants had every feature Torch & Crown needed, reported General Manager Bill Brooks. It enabled the team to efficiently take orders, make menu changes on the fly, and keep orders moving through the kitchen. Employees loved how they could depend on Square for smooth performance, making their jobs a lot easier.
“Unlike outdated legacy systems, Square doesn’t require hours of training to set up and use. The younger generation is more tech-savvy, and if you don’t keep up… you’ll be left in the dust.”
Guests also appreciated the convenience and ease of Square. “Customers like the touchless payments, which they’ve come to expect in restaurants,” Bill noted.
Easy-to-use system to streamline operations
A hospitality industry veteran who’d struggled with legacy systems, Bill appreciated how Square saved him time and streamlined operations. Square enabled the restaurant to quickly get new employees up to speed, as its intuitive features and smooth performance helped promote job satisfaction. “Square is super easy to use,” Bill said. “It takes five minutes to train somebody on it. If you can use a smartphone, you can learn Square.” It also helped them retain their valued team members, who experienced greater job satisfaction working on a fast, efficient point-of-sale system.
“With archaic restaurant POS systems, it’s like trying to drive an 18-wheeler on a winding road at 200 mph. You can’t make corrections in real time. With Square, it’s like driving a Porsche where you’re able to react and adjust to things. This is so important as we get busier and continue to grow.”
Square also integrated with Torch & Crown’s payroll system, which saved Bill from manually checking things like tip pooling percentages against employees’ hours — resulting in six hours a week of Bill’s time saved while avoiding payroll errors. That’s more time he could spend managing and growing this bustling brewery restaurant business.
Key data points:
- 6 hours saved per week by using integrated payroll
- 40% increase in touchless payments
- More than a 5% reduction in food costs*
- More than a 12% reduction in beverage costs*
*With Craftable
Seamless integration with partner apps
With dine-in business finally booming, Torch & Crown looked for more places to save on costs. Square for Restaurants integrates with multiple partners and tools, so Bill looked to the Square App Marketplace for ideas. He discovered Craftable, a profit-management solution that integrated with Square and allowed him to view real-time sales data to calculate food and alcohol costs and help improve margins in real time.
“Every week we monitor our top five or 10 items in any category, whether it’s beer, food, or wine,” Bill said. That’s how he discovered the cost of brandy in a popular cocktail was running too high. He was able to correct the pricing immediately, boosting the brewery’s bottom line. As a result, for every new dollar of incremental revenue made month over month, Craftable helped them keep 80 cents.
Increased loyalty and customer satisfaction
Another revenue booster: To thank guests and invite them back to the restaurant, Bill used Square to send out 250 eGift Cards to customers who left five-star reviews. “It was quick and easy to do, generating thousands in revenue and repeat business we might not have had otherwise,” said Bill.
Bill looks forward to using Square to expand Torch & Crown’s business. With their operations in great shape, they’re now looking to grow their events business, including parties, trivia nights, and beer tastings. They continue to keep lunch and dinner crowds happy and well-fed on fried chicken, mussels, salads and burgers, along with their own hazy IPAs and other brews.
Torch & Crown knows they can count on the connected tools from Square, Craftable and other Square partners to help them deliver the New York City brewery restaurant experience diners have come to love.
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