Located in the busy town centre of Whitley Bay on the Northumberland coast, Room 305 is popular restaurant and bar, serving freshly cooked Greek and Turkish dishes, as well a broad range of drinks including cocktails.
Having initially traded as a coffee shop when it opened five years ago, Room 305 upgraded its kitchen during the covid lockdown, enabling it to add a much more extensive menu, as well as expanding its popular cocktail offer.
When its existing EPOS system failed to cope with the needs of the expanded business, Room 305 switched to Tabology’s Restaurant EPOS system, making the choice based on a recommendation from an existing Tabology customer.
Co-owner Gill Hacioglu says: “We need something that would integrate with the Xero accounting system, as well as with our card provider. We also wanted a system that worked on iPads, which we already used. Tabology just fit the bill, it’s everything in one system. When, I first spoke to them, I could tell they were hospitality specialists. They understood what I needed, and tailored the system to our business.
“They took our menus and input them onto the system, so everything was just ready to go on the day we went live.”
The venue is open during the daytime from Monday to Thursday, with evening opening and more of a lively atmosphere on Friday and Saturday. “People will book for a meal, but they’ll stay and have a drink, and we also get some walk-in trade later in the evening.” Whitley Bay is a popular holiday destination, and Room 305’s town centre location means it appeals to both local customers and tourists. Summer 2022 saw a significant increase in seasonal trade, says Gill.
Front of house at Room 305, the EPOS system is used to take customer orders, run tabs and manage payments. Using the Table Plan ensures that orders are taken, drinks prepared, food orders printed to the kitchen, and delivered to the correct table. It can also be used to split bills and record tips.
“We also use the back office functions for stock management, and to calculate GP,” says Gill. “With food prices changing so frequently at the moment, it’s so useful to be able to enter your cost price, and use the GP calculator to see what the menu price needs to be.”
Gill also finds the staff sign-in very useful. “If there’s ever a query on a bill, I can see who handled it, who took the payment, whether it was a split bill, and so on. I can open the back office from wherever I am, and check what’s happened, and speak to the staff member involved. We also do some customer and staff discounts, and it’s useful to be able to check who’s putting those through.
“I don’t have to be on site to check something, I can keep an eye on the business in real time, as well as historically, from anywhere. That’s really useful.”
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