AI Automation for Restaurants, QSR, and Franchise Operators
I own Scooter's Coffee and Hawaiian Bros locations, so I know the Sunday-night schedule scramble and the catering email that slips through the cracks. I build AI that takes that stuff off my own plate, and I can build it for yours. Not theory, not a demo. Just hours back and money that stops leaking out the back door.
Remote-first, anywhere in the US. Based in central Iowa, so Des Moines-area operators also get easy on-site time.
You do not need the perfect AI strategy figured out. Most owners are too buried in the day-to-day to even think about it, and that is fine. So here are five things that quietly eat a restaurant's week. If one of them makes you think "if I could hand that off, I'd get my Sundays back," that is a great place to start. And if your real headache is not even on this list, that is the conversation I want most.
The catering inquiry that never sleeps
An AI agent answers catering and large-party inquiries the moment they land, day or night. It asks the right questions, quotes, and books the event, across your website, Instagram DMs, and Google.
Why it matters: You know the catering email you saw at 11pm and meant to answer in the morning. By then it is booked somewhere else. Catering goes to whoever replies first, and these are $500 to $5,000 events. This one is live for my own Hawaiian Bros catering right now.
Schedules that build themselves
AI builds your staff schedule from sales forecasts, weather, and local events, then enforces breaks and overtime on its own.
Why it matters: The Sunday-night schedule is the worst hour of an operator's week. This gives it back. Owners save 5 to 10 hours a week, cut labor cost 10 to 15 percent, and lose fewer people because the shifts are fair and predictable.
The manager who reads every review and replies in your voice
AI watches Google, Yelp, and Facebook, drafts an on-brand reply to every review for your one-click approval, and texts you the second a serious complaint lands.
Why it matters: Every owner means to reply to reviews and never quite gets to them, and meanwhile the catering and event bookings go to the place with the better profile. This handles every one in your voice and pings you the moment a real problem shows up.
Know your food cost before the month ends
AI pulls your POS sales and supplier invoices, flags waste and cost variance daily, and warns you before product spoils.
Why it matters: The worst surprise in this business is the month-end food cost number you cannot explain. This flags the waste and the variance the same day, while you can still do something about it. Most owners only find out when the money is already gone.
One morning text for every location
For multi-unit and franchise groups: AI rolls up sales, labor, reviews, and inventory across all your stores into one text or dashboard on your phone, before you finish your coffee.
Why it matters: If you run more than one spot, you know the daily chain of chasing managers for numbers and stitching spreadsheets together. This puts the whole brand in one place every morning. I built it because I needed it for my own locations.
These five are just to get the wheels turning, not a menu you have to pick from. Whatever quietly eats your week can usually be automated, and I build it around your actual workflow, not a template. If your biggest headache is not even on this list, even better. That is exactly the kind of thing I love to figure out.
Why a founder-operator, not an agency
I am not an agency or a consultant who read about restaurants. I own and run Scooter's Coffee and Hawaiian Bros locations, and I build these systems for my own stores first. So when I scope something for you, I am scoping it for a real crew on a real Friday night, not for a slide.
Proof from live systems
- A live AI catering agent answering inquiries for my own restaurants today.
- A multi-tenant AI platform running content, reviews, and reporting across my brands.
- 25 years of multi-unit P&L, from a $45M store to franchise ownership.
Frequently Asked Questions
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So, what is eating the most hours in your week?
Tell me the one that caught your eye, or the headache that is not even on this list, plus a little about your spot. I read every one of these myself and reply within 24 hours.