Share your tips for a chance to win a $1,000 gift card!*

[jenni]

Hi everyone!

It's officially the first day of ☀️Summer☀️, and we have some great news! As a new community member, from June 21 - July 31, share tips on how you are navigating the busy season, and you will be entered for the chance to win a $1000 Visa gift card.* Terms Apply

We'd love to get to know you and hear how you and your restaurant team have prepared for the busy season. Tell us more about you below in the comments ⬇️ 

• Your name
• Restaurant name & location
• How long have you been a Toast customer?
• What are your best practices for navigating the busy season?

*Terms and conditions apply. See Official Rules for details

[MadSwedette]

• Your name: Susie Larson
• Restaurant name & location: Mad Swede Brewing Company, Boise, ID
• How long have you been a Toast customer? 3 years
• What are your best practices for navigating the busy season? In Southern Idaho, our busy season arrives in the fall when the kids go back to school. Idahoans are an outdoorsy bunch. During the summer, they are busy camping, hiking, biking, fishing, floating the rapids, and escaping the summer heat by heading to the mountains. They turn their attention back to Boise when school starts. That said, during the summer season, we make sure to provide plenty of shade on our patio and keep the air conditioning in good operation for indoors. We set up a water station with ice cold water, where customers can help themselves. We extend our hours in the summer because it stays light late here. Customers enjoy sitting outside as the heat of the day dissipates. When school is back in session, and our busy season starts, we schedule more servers for the weekends. On especially busy days, we add more temporary seating in the unused area of our brewery. We also rent out brewery space for events. 

[Flame_And_Pie]

• Glenn Allen, Owner
• Flame and Pie Mobile Pizzeria. We're a food truck in Hampton, VA
• We've been a Toast user for just over 2 years. Started with a Terminal and 2 KDS'. Have since purchased a larger terminal with a GFD and dropped the handheld in place of the gift card module.
• Best practices for summer rush...Finally found and hired a young lady who really cares and wants to be part of our team. We are a small family business with myself, my wife, and my daughter, cranking out around 300 to 500 pizzas a week. Hiring this person has been one of the best things we've done. I was looking at numbers and trying to justify the payroll addition but it worked. We're able to increase output more by having those 2 extra hands. She does it all...Cashier, Cutter, boxer, cook, maker, dough stretcher, all of it. A quality employee, who wants to do it all is a game changer.

[BistroPolaris]

• Jessica Hedgcock
• Bistro Polaris at Black Star Farms, Suttons Bay MI
• We are BRAND NEW! Toast customer for about a month 
• As a brand new restaurant opening right in peak busy season, our commitment to the shared vision is critical. My advice is to build a team energy that celebrates everyone's success. The 15 year old host/busser, the server, dishwasher, the chef, the behind the scenes people like accountants and social media marketing- all critical to the team and the vision. My advice is to celebrate each other, cheer for each other, stick up for each other- a great win by anyone on the team is a great win for all of us. It is a small thing in the grand picture of opening a brand new place, but morale can pull you through. Tell them "Youre doing great!", and they WILL do great. 

[Tomasmn97]

• Your name: Tomas Mendoza
• Restaurant: Bozzellis at DC
• How long have you been a Toast customer? 1 year
• What are your best practices for navigating the busy season? Always contact support when you are not being able of doing something, they are great and very helpful.

[Camille]

- Camille Alberro

-The Cave Kosher Bar & Grill  (5650 Stirling Rd, Hollywood, FL)

-Just started as a toast customer, but have used toast system for a year now.

-The best practices for me is to plan ahead, come prepared, and have patience while working as efficient/fast as possible.