Stop Losing Hours to Manual Kitchen and Front-of-House Drudgery Reclaim Your Time with Custom AI Automation
Imagine slashing 15-20 hours of weekly admin work, boosting your team's focus on what matters—delivering killer customer experiences—while cutting costs by 30% on operational inefficiencies.
Join 250+ restaurants with streamlined operations and happier teams
The "Back-of-House Bottleneck" Problem
Endless manual par-level checks and inventory counts during rushed mise en place prep times
Chaotic ticket handoffs between front-of-house waitstaff and back-of-house kitchen leading to wrong orders and remakes
Wasted shifts on repetitive vendor ordering for staples like produce and chasing invoices for seafood deliveries
Inaccurate labor scheduling causing understaffing during dinner rushes and expo bottlenecks
Scattered POS and reservation data making loyalty programs for repeat diners feel like an afterthought
Manual trim and spoilage tracking that hides where food cost percentages are vanishing on unsold specials
Our Custom-Built AI Workflows Tailored to Your Restaurant's Rhythm
With over a decade in food service tech integrations, we've helped spots like yours turn operational headaches into smooth, efficient flows.
Why Choose Us
Here's the thing: restaurants aren't cookie-cutter. Your workflow—whether it's a bustling diner or a fine-dining spot—needs automation that's built around your exact needs, not some off-the-shelf band-aid. At AIQ Labs, we dive deep into your daily grind: the morning prep rushes, peak-hour scrambles, and late-night closes. We craft a unified AI system that connects your POS, inventory tools, and scheduling apps into one seamless powerhouse. No more juggling apps or fighting brittle links. It's custom code, owned by you, delivering real-time smarts that predict busy nights and automate the tedium. Let's be honest, this isn't about flashy tech—it's about giving your team back hours to focus on plating perfect dishes and wowing guests.
What Makes Us Different:
Unlock Time and Cost Wins That Hit Your Bottom Line
Save 15-20 Hours Weekly on Manual Tasks
Save 15-20 Hours Weekly on Manual Tasks: You're probably thinking about those endless end-of-shift inventory reconciliations after closing. Our automation handles real-time par-level updates via barcode scans, seamless ticket syncing from POS to kitchen printers, and automated compactor waste logging. Picture your line cooks focusing on plating specials instead of counting onions—that's a direct boost to table turns from 20 to 30 per night and revenue per server hour, with ROI kicking in within the first quarter through reduced comp time.
Cut Operational Costs by 30% Through Efficiency Gains
Cut Operational Costs by 30% Through Efficiency Gains: Manual errors in vendor orders for perishables or over-scheduling line cooks can bleed cash like a leaky faucet. We build AI that forecasts demand based on historical cover counts and automates reorders for items like fresh herbs, reducing overstock waste by up to 25%. One client saw their food cost percentage drop from 32% to 28% in just two months after implementing auto-replenishment for dairy—pure profit from smarter workflows that prevent daily spoilage tosses.
Boost Productivity and Customer Satisfaction Scores
Boost Productivity and Customer Satisfaction Scores: Short punchy wins: faster expo times mean happier diners with hot plates arriving on time. Our system personalizes loyalty perks like free apps for frequent brunch visitors based on POS history, turning one-time guests into regulars. Efficiency gains let your servers upsell wine pairings more naturally, with some restaurants reporting a 15% lift in average check size without extra effort, all while improving Yelp ratings by 0.5 stars in the first season.
What Clients Say
"Before AIQ, we were buried in manual par-level checks every shift during our breakfast rush—it was killing our mise en place time. Now, the system auto-tracks stock via integrated scales and flags low items like eggs before we run out. Saved us about 12 hours a week on inventory, and our trim waste is down 20% since install last March, letting us serve 15 more covers daily."
Maria Gonzalez
General Manager, Bella Italia Bistro (Italian casual dining spot in Chicago)
"Scheduling was a nightmare with no-shows during Friday night dinner rushes, leaving our grill station understaffed. Their custom AI predicts busy periods from reservation data and suggests shifts, integrating right with our Toast POS. Cut overtime costs by 25% over six months and kept our team happier—no more last-minute calls to on-call cooks."
Jamal Reed
Owner, Riverside Diner (family-owned American diner in Portland)
"We juggled three apps for expo tickets, vendor portals, and inventory, but integrations always broke during peak lunch hours. AIQ built one system that syncs everything seamlessly with our Square POS and auto-reorders spices. Order errors dropped to near zero, and we're saving $800 a month on what used to be multiple subscription fees, plus fewer remakes on curries."
Sarah Kim
Operations Director, Spice Route Cafe (Asian fusion cafe in Seattle)
Simple 3-Step Process
Discovery and Mapping Your Workflow
We start with a deep dive into your restaurant's daily flow—from opening checklists to close-out reports. No assumptions; we tailor everything to your menu specials, peak hours, and team size.
Custom Design and AI Integration
Next, our engineers build your bespoke system, weaving in AI for predictions like staffing needs or inventory dips. We connect it all—POS, suppliers, even your reservation app—into a single, robust hub that's yours to own.
Deployment, Training, and Optimization
We roll it out with hands-on training for your staff, then monitor and tweak for the first month. Watch as efficiencies compound, delivering that quick ROI while we ensure it scales with your business.
Why We're Different
What's Included
Common Questions
How does this automation handle our variable menu and seasonal changes?
Great question—restaurants like yours thrive on flexibility, and our custom builds are designed for it. We start by mapping your core processes, then embed AI that learns from your sales patterns, like summer salad surges or winter stew spikes. Unlike rigid templates, our system auto-adjusts forecasts and workflows without manual tweaks. For instance, if you rotate specials, it integrates with your POS to update inventory in real-time. Implementation takes 4-6 weeks, with built-in scalability so adding a new location or pop-up event is seamless. The result? You save hours on adjustments while keeping operations tight. We've seen spots reduce menu-related errors by 35%, directly padding your margins.
What's the ROI timeline for a mid-sized restaurant?
You're probably eyeing the numbers—fair enough. For a typical 50-seat spot, we target breakeven within 2-3 months through time savings and cost cuts. Expect 15+ hours freed up weekly from automating inventory and scheduling, translating to $2,000-$4,000 monthly in labor efficiencies. Add in reduced waste (often 20-30% drop) and fewer order errors, and ROI hits 3-5x in year one. We base this on real clients: one bistro recouped our fee in eight weeks by slashing overtime during peaks. It's all custom, so we model your exact projections upfront. No fluff—just quantifiable wins that fit your cash flow.
Will this disrupt our daily operations during setup?
We get it—downtime in a restaurant is like a no-show line cook on Friday night. That's why our approach is phased and low-impact. We begin with off-hours discovery sessions to understand your flow without interrupting service. Builds happen in parallel, with testing on a staging setup. Rollout is modular: start with high-pain areas like order routing, then layer in inventory. Training is bite-sized, 1-2 hours per team member, focused on their roles. Most clients report zero service dips, and we provide 24/7 support in the first month. Think of it as seasoning a dish gradually—smooth integration that enhances without overwhelming.
Can it integrate with our existing POS and other tools?
Absolutely, and that's where we shine. Whether you're on Toast, Square, or Lightspeed, we create deep API connections that go beyond surface-level syncs. No more data silos—orders flow instantly to inventory, triggering auto-reorders if stock dips below par. We've integrated with over 20 food service platforms, including delivery apps and accounting like QuickBooks. For example, one client synced their Clover POS with supplier portals, cutting manual entry by 90%. It's all custom-coded for reliability, so if your menu changes or you add a new tool, we adapt without breaking the chain. Security is baked in, ensuring compliance with payment and data regs.
How do we maintain and update the system long-term?
Ownership means control, and we empower you from the start. Unlike subscription traps, you own the code outright, with full documentation and access. We offer optional maintenance packages for updates—like AI model refreshes for better forecasting as your data grows—but many clients handle basics in-house. Quarterly check-ins ensure it evolves with your business, such as tweaking for new health codes or menu expansions. Our team, with food service roots, provides priority support. One owner told us it's like having an extra manager who never sleeps, keeping efficiencies humming without the hassle.
Is this scalable if we expand to multiple locations?
Yes, scalability is core to our design—restaurants grow, and your system should too. We architect with multi-site in mind, centralizing data while allowing location-specific tweaks, like varying par levels for a flagship vs. outpost. AI learns across sites to predict chain-wide trends, optimizing bulk orders. Setup for expansion is straightforward: replicate core workflows and customize per spot. Clients adding a second location report 40% faster onboarding than with separate tools. It's built to handle growth without performance lags, turning your automation into a competitive edge as you scale.
Ready to Get Started?
Book your free consultation and discover how we can transform your business with AI.