Thanks, everyone. Had quite a few brethren stop in this week. I didn't catch the names since it was crazy busy, but appreciate those of you who came out.
For those wondering, the POS system I'm using is
www.shopkeep.com It's iPad based, which is great since it can also be used remotely, such as on-site catering, etc. And it was surprisingly affordable. The hardware I had to purchase, like the cash drawer, two thermal printers, and stuff came out to something like 800 bucks. Then I just had to buy a basic ipad. Figured even if I didn't like the POS itself, I could just keep the ipad since I've wanted one anyway. :mrgreen:
The weather improved slightly over the past few days so it's been another record week. The last few days the smoker has been at, or even over capacity as we try to keep up. The cvap for holding is more than maxed out. We have trays stacked on trays stacked on trays, and even started using a mobile steam pan warmer to hold even more, and still can't keep up.
While being so busy is great, I can begin to sense it's also becoming a detriment for some. One, there isn't enough parking. We seat 38 and have 20 parking spaces, two of which are handicap. I've had a number of people tell me that they come here for dinner, but there's nowhere to park so they just keep driving. And some take-out people have complained that they are just coming to pick up an order and have to park in the alley or in the middle of the lot just to run in to get their order. Also had a few people see the line outside and said they didn't want to stand in line.
I mean, I totally realize that this is a great problem to have, but at the same time I want to be able to serve as many people as possible and not have people not stopping because of the traffic. When the weather really starts to get warm, I don't know what we're going to do. I mean this entire concept was built around doing 50-80 customers a day, but we're doing 200-300 a day and could do more if we didn't sell out due to capacity issues.
And this doesn't include all of the catering requests I've had. It's only been about two months and I've got a bunch of requests to do weddings, graduation parties, etc. Since these are typically on weekends there's just no possible way without additional smoker space.
I'll figure it out, but it's been overwhelming to say the least. But at the end of the day, it's pictures like these that people post on facebook that make it all worth it in the end. She literally ordered and ate a full half pound of brisket herself.