Centro Restaurant Group | Olo Case Study

Centro boosts peak-hour throughput with QR code ordering

Centro Restaurant Group operates three fast-casual dual concepts in Minneapolis-St. Paul, including Centro, Vivir, and Everywhen. In an effort to provide memorable dining experiences with speedy, yet thorough service, Centro rolled out QR code ordering through Olo. Since launch, the brand has digitized nearly all restaurant transactions—on-premise and off-premise—streamlined operations, and increased satisfaction for both guests and staff.


98%

of all restaurant transactions are digital

20%+

increase in peak hour throughput

90%

decrease in order inaccuracies

Centro Restaurant Group | Olo Case Study

Background

Before teaming up with Olo, Centro had a number of pain points not uncommon for fast-casual restaurants: long lines at the register, high order inaccuracy, and inefficiencies across the board.

With the hope of streamlining operations, enhancing the guest experience, and boosting staff retention across its concepts, Centro decided to optimize the dine-in experience with QR code ordering.

QR code ordering enables guests to scan a QR code at the table with their mobile device to access the restaurant’s menu, order, and pay. Guests benefit from faster service, more control over order accuracy, the ability to easily add items to their meals, and quickly pay—all from the comfort of their table. In turn, staff are freed up to greet guests, answer questions, deliver food to tables, and clean.

Since launching at Centro, QR code ordering has revolutionized the dine-in experience across its concepts with guest satisfaction, staff retention, and sales reaching never-before-seen heights.


Results with Olo

01 

INCREASED THROUGHPUT AND FEWER MISTAKES

QR code ordering has significantly impacted Centro’s bottom line. Peak hour throughput has increased by over 20% with guests ordering at the table. It has also reduced the number of order inaccuracies from 15–20 per day to just one or two, improving efficiency and minimizing food waste.

02 

DOUBLE-DIGIT SALES GROWTH

By digitizing 98% of transactions, Centro has streamlined production and seen double-digit growth in sales year over year. The brand has improved its overall speed of service by eliminating the line at the register—a 10-15 minute wait—and consolidating on-premise and off-premise orders into a single production line.

03 

HIGHER WAGES AND STAFF SATISFACTION

Centro has improved staff retention by applying a 10% service fee to all QR code orders and distributing it to the production team. This creates more parity with the service staff, who earn $20-35/hour on average, including tips. By offering wages on par with a full-service restaurant and reducing stress with a simplified ordering process, Centro has become a competitive employer in Minneapolis-St. Paul.



As a tech-driven company, we’re always looking for ways to make the guest experience as painless and easy as possible. If you don’t, they won’t come back. The more systems we can build into our brand, the more efficient we’ll be and the more control we’ll have over our service, quality, and all of that. By putting the guest in control of their experience with QR code ordering, we’ve reduced wait time and human error, while enabling our staff to focus on hospitality.

Jami Olson, Owner/CEO

Centro Restaurant Group


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