Good morning! Welcome to our tech talk. 

Ever had that sinking feeling of your POS crashing during dinner rush, and you’re left with your "backup plan" of a notepad from Staples and a prayer?

This week, while billion-dollar companies reshuffled the restaurant tech deck, smart operators doubled down on the unglamorous stuff that keeps their doors open and their sanity intact. 👇

What’s on tap in this issue:

• Why DoorDash's $1.2B bet could complicate your life
• The Olo sale that has operators sweating
• How Tarka stopped playing repair roulette (and you can too)

🌶️The Texas heat will have some competition this summer because R365’s Restaurant Transformation Tour Dallas will be H-O-T. Join us on June 3rd for juicy insights and a FREE t-shirt (limited time only, so swing by our booth early). Hit “Reply” and let us know you’re coming.

Industry news

What’s cookin’ in the industry? 

Billion-dollar acquisitions and a digital ordering Goliath considering a sale send a message loud and clear. The race to own the digital guest experience is on. 🏁

DoorDash's billion-dollar power grab (and what it means for your guest data)

Picture this: You've spent 3 years building relationships through SevenRooms ~ tracking Mrs. Johnson's gluten allergy, remembering that the Smiths always order extra breadsticks, creating the personal touches that keep regulars coming back.

Soon, DoorDash will have access to that relationship data.

The delivery giant just dropped $1.2 billion to acquire SevenRooms, plus another $3.9 billion for Deliveroo. Translation? They're not just delivering your food anymore, they want to own your entire guest experience.

DoorDash’s Q1 numbers behind the grab:

• Revenue: $3.0B (up 21% YoY)
• Orders: 732M (up 18% YoY)
• Net income: $193M (vs. $23M loss last year)

How this affects you:

• SevenRooms will continue to run independently, but with access to DoorDash’s tech and merchant network.
• DoorDash is turning into a one-stop shop for restaurants by handling logistics and driving repeat business with customer data.
• Other tech providers are now scrambling to build their own "everything platform" before they get steamrolled.

Olo's for-sale sign has operators asking: "Now what?"

Remember when Olo was the golden child of restaurant tech? Those days feel like a distant memory as the digital ordering giant explores a potential sale to Toast, Oracle, or whoever's willing to write the biggest check.

The backstory that matters:

• Powers 86,000+ locations (including brands like Sweetgreen, Texas Roadhouse, and Dutch Bros)
• Processed $29B in orders last year
• Stock down 84% from its 2021 peak (ouch)

Possible impact on Olo customers: You might be learning a new system soon. Maybe Oracle's enterprise maze. Or Toast's interface. Either way, that seamless ordering flow you've perfected? It's likely to change.

Timely tips 

Want a tech stack that scales with you?

Start with these 3 top-notch solutions to automate workflows and improve visibility.

🧰 1. Stop playing repair roulette. You know the panicky feeling when your walk-in cooler starts making that sound on a Friday night? ResQ turns the chaos of urgent repairs into a simple workflow. One platform tracks everything: work orders, vendor contacts, repair history, the works.

• Doc B's Restaurant Group reduced repair costs by 50% and time spent on R&M by 80% after partnering with ResQ. 

💲 2. Make your numbers make sense.  Restaurant365’s cloud-based accounting software integrates with POS, payroll, and inventory, providing real-time visibility into financial performance across all locations.

• Whataburger franchisee slashed time spent on financial reconciliation by 50% and is on track for a 300% expansion plan after implementing Restaurant365. 

🤝 3. Choose a full-service POS. A stellar POS should do more than take orders. Toast offers built-in tools for labor tracking, menu engineering, guest marketing, and reporting. 

• Roc 'N' Ramen saw 15% higher check sizes with mobile ordering. That's $120K annually. Not because they got fancy, they simply made ordering easier for customers who were already there to spend money.

From the community

How Tarka stopped playing maintenance whack-a-mole

When Tarka Indian Kitchen hit 10 locations, CEO Tinku Saini had a problem. His "system" for tracking repairs was a muddled maze of Google Forms, unending phone calls, and crossed fingers. Equipment would break, someone would scramble to find a vendor, and nobody had a clue if they were getting ripped off or not.

By introducing ResQ, they revamped everything R&M.

Tarka now tracks every step of a work order, from approval to repair, on a single platform. Store teams get real-time updates, cutting confusion and boosting trust. “They don’t think we’re sitting on our hands,” said CEO Tinku Saini.

No more cold calls or sketchy online reviews. Tarka now uses ResQ’s curated vendor network while still keeping its preferred partners in play. “We liked that we didn’t have to give up the vendors we trust,” said Director of Ops Craig Breaux.

With detailed cost tracking per asset, they can make data-backed repair vs. replace decisions. That visibility is pivotal as the brand continues to grow.

Coordinating multi-vendor projects used to take days. With ResQ, it takes a fraction of the time.

Break time

When a dinner rush catastrophe makes you want to set your hair on fire 🔥 

You know “Fine” stands for “Feelings inside not expressed”, right? But I’m sure you’ve got this.  

— Kareem at ResQ 

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Shameless plug

What does ResQ do?

ResQ is the most trades-friendly facilities management platform that streamlines restaurant R&M operations, while providing value to the trades industry.

Operators can efficiently track assets, create work orders quickly, and choose from a network of quality vendors to work with.

Love free samples? Same here. Schedule a FREE demo to learn more about ResQ.