Grillshack restaurant London is first to go live with mobile ordering & payment App from TISSL

CREDITON, U.K. - Oct. 24, 2013 - PRLog -- Grillshack is leading the field in the use of technology to speed up ordering and service.  Alongside counter ordering, the all-day restaurant provides touchscreen kiosks for guests to select and pay for food and beverages.  Uniquely, the restaurant has also gone live with an App developed by TISSL, believed to be the first of its kind in use in the UK, that enables guests to use their smartphones and iPads to order and pay.

Operations Director Hannah Bass explains the inspiration for Grillshack. “We looked at opportunities to open a new, affordable dining brand in the mid market.  We felt there could be a way to serve fast food, in a more comfortable environment, with a focus on quality.  We wanted to be ‘of the moment’ but not too trendy.”

Grillshack devised a very tight menu to prevent the restaurant being typecast.  “We wanted to challenge preconceptions of what fast food can be: fresh, healthy and affordable, thoughtfully prepared and presented.”

Hannah Bass is quick to explain they didn’t set out to create a high-tech restaurant but that their research revealed this was how people were thinking.   “We wanted to offer counter service, something informal with fast turnover, and it turned out that technology offered us the best solution for operational issues.  At pinch-points in the service such as selling second drinks, technology can help and can give guests a little more control.”

As expected, the new in-restaurant technology is giving guests more freedom. “Interestingly, the touchscreen kiosks seem to be proving most popular.  That said, when guests do use the App, they’re very positive and come back again and reuse it.”  This is borne out by social networking sites which reveal that the App is a draw for many diners.

Before collaborating with TISSL, Hannah Bass and her colleagues looked at the market and explored potential partnerships with a number of suppliers.  “We chose TISSL because they could build the App we wanted and produce a complete technology solution on time, and they came in at the price we expected.  Importantly too they have a strong EPoS solution and integration between the App and EPoS is critical.”

Development took four months to complete.  “Everything was driven by the functionality in the restaurant and TISSL created new elements for us.  Nothing was bought off the shelf. The screens are entirely new and they re-skinned their EPoS solution for us.”

Adds TISSL’s Business Development Manager, Stuart Coetzee:  “What we’ve achieved for Grillshack is the next step in restaurant technology. The package includes our standard EPoS solution for counter service together with kiosk ordering, online ordering and mobile App ordering, all with payment at order. We’re the first in the UK, I believe, to fully link all these elements together and we are thrilled to see Grillshack take the technology to market.”

Grillshack staff have reacted enthusiastically.  “They’re all young and tech-savvy and so have responded really well,” says Bass.   Guests too are positive.  “Overall, they’re happy using the technology.  The App will take a while to bed in and it’s a departure to be using PayPal to pay in a restaurant but they really love it.”

Work hasn’t stopped there and collaboration is ongoing.  “We want to continue to innovate rather than rest on our laurels.  As for working with TISSL, it’s essentially a family-run business and the service is very good.”

Concludes Hannah Bass: “Guests will make a decision to come to Grillshack based on our great food, great drink, great service, and great people.  They wouldn’t come for the technology alone but it’s all part of the mix and something we’re proud of.”

About TISSL Limited – www.tissl.co.uk

Since 2003, TISSL has provided EPoS solutions and touchscreen tills to the hospitality industry worldwide.  Standing out for speed, reliability, breadth of functionality and quality of support, they suit all hospitality operations.  Used in 400+ establishments, TISSL EPoS excels in fine dining, casual dining, fast food, pubs & bars, hotels and members’ clubs.

Many of the industry’s most demanding chef-patrons, such as Heston Blumenthal, Rick Stein, Jason Atherton and Alexis Gauthier, use TISSL EPoS.  In Restaurant Magazine’s survey of 2,000 establishments, TISSL EPoS has been voted ‘Chef’s Choice’ for the past four years.  TISSL users commonly secure high-ranking positions in the National Restaurant Awards and 2013 was no exception.

TISSL point-of-service functionality is complemented by customer loyalty, time & attendance, interfaces to restaurant reservations and kitchen display systems, stock management and digital signage. The centre-piece of the TISSL solution today is its fully-integrated smartphone application for ordering and payment, the next step in restaurant technology.

About Grillshack – www.grillshack.co.uk

The restaurant’s opening was much anticipated given the credentials of its directorial line-up; entrepreneur Richard Caring is funding Grillshack, Hannah Bass previously of Hakkasan and ETM is its Operations Director, and Head Chef is Gordon Ramsay-trained Mark Askew.

Grillshack is offers eat-in and take-out food all day, seven days a week. Most dishes are prepared on the grill in the open kitchen. Breakfast items include: grilled sourdough with scrambled eggs and maple bacon; buttermilk apple pancakes with syrup; and full English breakfast with fried eggs.

The main menu is available from 11.30am until close each day and offers dishes including: grilled rump steak with shoestring fries and smoked butter; a 100% British beef burger (with single or double patties with optional Monterey Jack and bacon); and a grilled half chicken and halloumi with green leaves, quinoa and beetroot. The restaurant serves its own Grillshack lager, created by Brewers & Union, and a selection of wines on tap.