Not all restaurants need to be automated

The second version of the Chat GPT neural network has been released, which has a record number of parameters (1.5 billion versus 100–300 million commonly used in such cases). Robot waiters serve customers in establishments from Belarus to Thailand. And start-ups all over the world compete in the production of artificial products. And yet, not all representatives of the food tech community are ready to introduce innovations into their business.

We talked with the director of the Japanese restaurant Ronin Olga about how their restaurant has transformed over the 6 years of its existence, find out what are the obstacles to automation in this business and discuss where to get inspiration for those who work in catering.

The emergence of a “free warrior”

In 2017, a small restaurant of Japanese cuisine, Ronin, opens in Minsk on Bangalore Street. Alexander, the chef who conceived this restaurant, already had a lot of experience and a devoted audience behind him. And it seems that here it is, the whole key to success. But in fact, the high level of quality of ready-made dishes and service has become an equally important factor.

On the day of the test opening, all the tables were occupied. Yes, and still spontaneously fall into Ronin is unlikely to succeed — it is better to book in advance. Even during the pandemic, according to Olga, the outflow of guests was not critical. And this is despite the price segment “above average”.

For this Ronin does not require advertising, cooperation with bloggers or other marketing tools. They have worked hard on their brand, which people associate with high quality. Alexander traveled a lot around the world to study both traditions and some innovative approaches. The Japanese chef Tommy, who managed to get into the team, also participated in shaping the positioning of Ronin as a boutique establishment.

In parallel, the owners developed their own production. They have their own ramen noodles, which can be ordered online, and the Japanese gyoza dish, available for purchase in some stores.

Online as an add-on

Simultaneously with the offline business, the owners began to conquer online. This is how the ronin.by website appeared, where everyone can order Asian dishes at home.

You can read how the site works internally in our case study. Olga also talked about how everything is arranged for the guests.

Firstly, the owners preferred to make their own platform rather than use the services of aggregators. As well as creating your own fleet with couriers. All this in order to be able to independently maintain their high level of quality and service.

Only in this way will you be sure that no one will be rude to the guest, the dish will be delivered on time and in the proper quality. And if some kind of force majeure happens, it is more convenient to analyze the situation and resolve issues on your side, and not through an intermediary:

Once we had an order for a private jet over the phone. We delivered everything according to the list, but it turned out that we did not bring a dish for my husband. The question is serious, people are hungry, people are in a hurry. We listened to the audio recording of the conversation, it turned out that the wife, in a hurry, simply forgot to dictate the entire order.

Secondly, online allowed to neutralize seasonality in business. The fans of the institution no longer had to deny themselves pleasure if it was snowing, raining, apocalypse outside the window. The only caveat is that on holidays, for example, February 14 or March 8, orders “for today” on the site are no longer accepted at 11 am.

Nevertheless, despite all the analytics, marketing features and other gadgets on the site, it is impossible to say where the check is higher: in the hall or online. These are two different parameters, for example, alcohol is an important factor in the hall, which is not on the takeaway menu. But you can definitely determine the favorite among the rolls — since 2010 it has always been “Philadelphia”. Simply because absolutely everyone knows it and has tried it. But the guests are wary of experiments. By the way, in order to reduce the degree of embarrassment for visitors, all dishes are called not by original Japanese names, but by composition. So a person will understand exactly what he is eating, and will not make a mistake when placing an order.

Online, unlike offline, we can influence the position of a dish, put it on the first or third line so that it gets into the field of view of customers. But at the same time, we definitely allow you to sort the menu, for example, by ingredients. This way you can see all positions with salmon, tuna, eel, etc. This allows you to show all the variety of the menu.

What else to automate?

However, a platform where you can make an online order is not all that establishments are capable of today. In our articles, we talked about various trends that help restaurants stay afloat. At a minimum, introduce various methods of ordering in an institution, payment, tips. Why isn’t this in Ronin?

You can simply attribute the institution to the old school, but the truth lies elsewhere. Ronin’s building has extremely thick walls. They interfere with the Internet signal and do not allow uninterrupted wi-fi operation. And this means that the banal payment at the terminal by phone is very difficult. Like the electronic menu on the tablet, where you can leave an order, it also becomes irrelevant.

Inspiration and plans

But bad internet is not able to stop Olga and Alexander. They have plans and

creating an application, and opening a franchise, and introducing a loyalty system. Even just banal scaling in the form of new restaurants is also a tempting prospect.

In order not to stop loving their business, to strive to develop and improve it, the spouses travel a lot. They adopt the experience of chefs from America and Japan. They get acquainted with representatives of the oldest brands, such as Kikkoman. And, of course, they try to inspire the team. Before the pandemic, the chefs and Alexander traveled to Düsseldorf. And from there they flew at the invitation of Mr. Lee (representative of the Kikkoman company) to Holland — travel always increases visibility.

But remember, no matter what you see in other countries, no matter what you want to implement, you need to take into account the difference in culture, technical nuances, and, more recently, also political events.