Alaskan Pub Makes a Good Call with AI Phone Answering

Client spotlight:

Locals Pub & Pizzeria sees a 162% increase in online food orders year over year.

Locals Pub & Pizzeria is a single-location bar and grill located in Wasilla, Alaska known for their friendly, relaxing atmosphere, specialty menu items, and extensive selection of local and domestic brews. Despite struggling with inflation, staffing shortages, and supply chain issues, the restaurant managed to surpass $2.5 million in annual sales and has their eyes set on hitting $3 million in the coming years. To achieve this goal, Locals has implemented new technology tools that help them earn more revenue without adding more to the already lengthy to-do list that comes with running a restaurant.

The staff at Locals had their plates full with pressing tasks that were necessary to keep the business running, preventing them from picking up every phone call and resulting in missed sales. General Manager Samuel Smith saw an opportunity to grow their takeaway and online ordering business without hiring additional staff by using Popmenu AI Answering. The tool is an automated phone service that uses data from the restaurant's website to answer common questions and allows the restaurant to customize responses if they'd like.

In Locals' first five months with AI Answering, the tool has automatically fielded over 6,600 calls, saving the staff 53 hours from talking on the phone. Additionally, Answering sent 42% of those callers a link to place an online order via text—an automated action that Smith says contributed to the 132% increase in online orders the restaurant saw in their first 90 days with the solution. Smith also notes that before employing the tool, the restaurant received a large portion of calls from telemarketers, something that has since been eliminated.

“AI Answering is a really tremendous asset. Before we got AI Answering, we had a lot of missed calls—and a lot of missed sales because of that. What AI Answering has done is free up the personnel to run the food to the tables, take the food to the to-go counter, and better interact with the customer. And it’s really helped in all aspects.”

Samuel Smith | General Manager, Locals Pub & Pizzeria

Popmenu provided Locals additional cost savings through their first-party online ordering. By hosting online ordering directly on their website, the restaurant saved money from third-party commissions and collected contact information from over 2,000 guests. Smith took advantage of Popmenu's included email marketing tools to incentivize these guests to place additional orders with a 10% discount that earned the restaurant over $15k in revenue. The success of this campaign made it evident that Locals needed dedicated support to consistently market to their customers. Enter Boost, Popmenu's consultative marketing service.

“What interested me in Boost was having someone with experience from Popmenu who is familiar with the platform, and have that person market to these 2,000-plus new followers, either through text or email.”

In just three months with the marketing service, Locals has earned $4,300 in online ordering revenue from email marketing and generated just under 6,200 impressions on social media. By integrating these tools and services into a single platform, Locals can easily gauge Popmenu's impact on their goals, making the journey to $3 million in annual sales as measurable as it is achievable.

Locals Pub & Pizzeria is just one of thosands of restaurants using Popmenu to simplify their operations and grow their sales. Schedule a free demo with one of our experts to learn how you can do the same for your restaurant.

“For any restaurant owners considering Popmenu, I would tell them to get it. Why? Because it will save you time and make you money. Popmenu is an effective tool, and if you don’t use their solutions, you are losing out.”

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Emporium Thai partners with Popmenu to craft the perfect recipe for online success.

It can be challenging to stand out among the many Thai food options available in a city like Los Angeles, yet Emporium Thai has done just that for over 23 years. Voted one of the Top 100 Best Thai Restaurants in the U.S. and the #1 requested for Thai food catering in Los Angeles, Emporium Thai has become the premier destination for authentic, elevated Thai cuisine. Accompanying their continued growth and success came the need for a differentiated technology partner to help drive and meet online traffic, as well as streamline systems and service on-premise. Their relationship with Popmenu, now spanning four years, helped the restaurant: create an online destination with food photography you can almost taste, build a guest-friendly online ordering and catering experience that drives sales, implement marketing campaigns that increase guest engagement and purchases, and automate phone answering so that staff can focus on in-person hospitality.

Catering is a significant part of Emporium Thai's business, and, thanks to online ordering hosted directly on their website, the restaurant has made it easier than ever for diners to order a delicious meal. These menus feature dish photos and reviews from other guests, so diners have access to all of the information they need before deciding to place an order. As an added benefit, hosting first-party online ordering saves the restaurant money on third-party commissions. In just three months, Emporium Thai earned $23,390 with an average order value of $615.53.

“So many companies have claimed to be able to help you grow your business, I’ve worked with many over the past years, and Popmenu is by far the best! The team goes above and beyond to support your vision and I’m so glad to have them by my side!”

John Sungkamee | Owner, Emporium Thai

Shortly after the new digital storefront was in place, Emporium Thai owner, John Sungkamee, knew he wanted to continue increasing brand awareness and connect more with his community of guests. So, he partnered with Boost, Popmenu's strategic marketing service, which provides a dedicated marketing consultant who works with the restaurant to grow marketing impact by consistently connecting with guests to increase online ordering revenue and brand visibility. For over 3 years, John has partnered with Popmenu Boost to launch monthly campaigns, delivering more than 1.5M email and text messages, collecting 20,000 guests contacts, driving over $98,400 in marketing-attributed revenue, and earning +160k post impressions on social media channels.

Emporium Thai’s longstanding reputation and abundance of awards mean a steady stream of inquisitive guests calling the business. Because of the small number of staff, the restaurant was in need of a solution that would stop the constant phone ringing and interruption of service to guests enjoying their meals. Enter: Popmenu AI Answering. With the ability to answer simple questions and automatically send links to revenue-generating requests like reservations, catering, and online ordering, the restaurant’s staff were no longer forced to divide their time or risk losing revenue by sending calls to voicemail. In their first year with the tool, Answering handled over 16.6k calls, saving the staff over 116 hours on the phone and providing 4,800 guests a link to place an order or make a reservation.

Now, with the full suite of Popmenu’s tools in hand, Emporium Thai has everything they need to flourish online without detracting from the in-person experience or adding additional stress on their team.