See How These Restaurants Use Add-On Items to Increase Their Earnings
With the need to generate revenue competing with the ongoing staffing crisis, restaurants are seeking ways to increase earnings without placing additional stress on their teams. Resy’s Add-on Items feature allows operators to sell a la carte items directly to guests booking prepaid reservations or purchasing event tickets. Senia in Honolulu and Cassava in San Francisco got creative with their offerings, helping them generate revenue through lockdowns and reduced capacity mandates. With customers excited to return to dining rooms, Add-on Items can also be used to boost the on-premise experience with menu enhancements and post-meal take home goodies. Find inspiration for your own Add-on Items from the imaginative and resourceful restaurants below.
Senia – Honolulu
Senia is an acclaimed eatery showcasing the local ingredients and techniques of its home in Honolulu, Hawaii. The restaurant turned to Resy’s Add-on Items to launch their first takeout program in the midst of the pandemic. Katherine Nomura, general manager and partner, was grateful to receive PPP funds to get up and running with takeout in June 2020.
“We decided to use Resy for our takeout program because of how gracious they had been in not charging fees during the pandemic, and because it was a system our staff and guests were already familiar with,” says Nomura.
Nomura saw the positive impact ofAdd-on Items onthe restaurant’s total sales. “Having additional items available for guests when they’re making a reservation or buying a ticket makes it so easy for customers to add something extra to their basket,” explains Nomura. “It’s like placing candy near the cash register in a grocery store.”
Pro tip: Nomura recommends rotating your options every so often so that loyal regulars don’t get fatigued.
For inspiration, here are some of the items Senia sold, drawing from their existing brand of innovative and refined Hawaiian cuisine:
- Pastry Box: calamansi tart, banana pudding verrine, oatmeal lace cookies, Kona coffee layer cake, yuzu blondies, and babka bostock
- Bake-at-Home Cookie Kit: Six bake-at-home cookies (peanut butter, Valrhona chocolate, toffee) with baking instructions included
- Valentine’s Day Flower Arrangement: One dozen long-stem red roses for the special event
Cassava – San Francisco
Cassava in San Francisco dishes out modern California cooking from the husband-and-wife ownership team of executive chef Kristoffer Toliao and GM/beverage director Yuka Ioroi. As a major advocate for the rights of restaurant workers and increased wages, Ioroi switched to Resy in 2017 after seeing an alignment of values for the industry.
Despite never doing any form of takeout prior to the pandemic, Cassava pivoted to a to-go family meal program to survive California’s many lockdowns. Using Resy’s Events tool, Ioroi created timed event tickets for customers to pick up their meals. “We were able to sell a takeout family meal directly on Resy during the time dine-in was closed, so our guests didn’t have to get another app and were able to order very easily,” says Ioroi.
In addition to the bulk bundles sold, Cassava offered Add-on Items for a la carte extras. With sold out holiday events, Ioroi plans to use Resy again for future experiences like wine pairing dinners and potential investor functions.
Pro tip:Cassava brought their meals and add-onsto life by creating their own diagrams for preparation and presentationvia Cassava @ Home.
Check out some of the Add-on Items that Cassava used to drive additional revenue:
- Japanese Breakfast: Sacramento koshihikari, miso soup, miso-marinated SF black cod, house pickles, soft poached egg in broth
- Take Home & Bake Lasagna: Early Girl tomatoes & ricotta lasagna in a ready to bake pan
- Banana Cream Icebox Pie for 2: Almond oatmeal streusel, custard, banana, whipped cream
Using Add-on Items For On-Premise Dining
While the above examples highlight ways restaurants used Add-on Items for at home dining, the feature can also boost earnings on-premise. The following restaurants are currently using Add-on Items to enhance the guest experience and create an automatic opportunity for upselling.
Gravitas, Washington D.C.
- Customers that book the Chef’s Counter experience can add a Premium Beverage Pairing or A5 Wagyu Beef Supplement at the time of booking.
MARCH, Houston
- For their six and nine course tasting menus, guests have the option to add a Wine Pairing or Premier Wine Pairing for their meals.
Prubechu, San Francisco
- Using Resy Events to host a Whole Roasted Pig Feast, Prubechu used Add-on Items to offer an All-You-Can-Drink option with local brews and select wines.
To learn more about how to set up your own Add-on Items, visit the Resy Helpdesk here.
*Opinions and views in articles shared on Resy OS are presented for the purpose of discussion and commentary on topics of interest in the restaurant industry; they should not be viewed as substitutes for advice given by professionally engaged business consultants and advisors.
