Interview With Rob Lombardi: Owner of Rye House in NYC and POSitouch User

We recently interviewed Rob Lombardi, owner of Rye House Restaurant and Bar in NYC. Rye House serves a variety of regional American cuisines, and has a well-curated wine list, in addition to a menu full of handcrafted cocktails. During our interview, Rob discussed his thought process in selecting POSitouch Point of Sale System as Rye House's POS system. He also explained how the system met his primary needs of being a simple, yet dependable system, that his staff could learn quickly, so that they could focus on providing an exceptional customer experience.

Good afternoon Rob. Can you introduce yourself and tell us about Rye House?

My name is Rob Lombardi and I’m the owner of Rye House Restaurant and Bar here at 11 W 17th Street in Manhattan. We’ve been at this location since 2009 and have about 25 employees. We opened a second Rye House location in 2014 in Westchester, and we also have a sister restaurant called Sala on 19th Street here in the city. We are also opening a new venture called Village Beer Garden in Westchester soon. Our website is https://www.ryehousenyc.com/, and it contains our menu and operating hours.

When you were searching for a POS system, what were the most important features that you were looking for?

When we were looking for a POS system we really wanted two things: simplicity and efficiency. We wanted to make sure that the system we chose was easy to use, and easy to learn, so that our servers and bartenders could concentrate on serving the customer. We wanted a system that provided as much information as possible to the servers and bartenders to allow them to do their job and communicate efficiently and get it right. The operation of the POSitouch system seemed to fit. There really were no bells and whistles that we didn’t expect.

What POS do you use? Why did you ultimately choose it?

We use the POSitouch system. All four of our locations use the same system. The features are similar to those of its competitors, but I chose it mainly for its simplicity and efficiency.

What other systems were you considering at the time?

We looked at both Micros POS and Aloha POS systems before settling on POSitouch. I have used Breadcrumb in a previous venture, and it was cloud-based. We felt the POSitouch system was a better fit for our operation.

How does your current system compare to other systems you’ve used in the past? Is it better or worse?

As I mentioned, the simplicity was what we were looking for. The system is very easy to use and very easy to train new employees. It has the right mix of info to allow the servers and bartenders to do their jobs.

How would you rate their customer service (1 to 5 with 5 being best)?

I would rate the customer service as a 4. On urgent issues, they’re really on top of things. If the system goes down, they address it right away, within a couple of hours at most. But on smaller, non-urgent issues it can take a couple of days for the issue to be addressed or the problem to be resolved.

Would you recommend this system to others?

Yes, I would definitely recommend the system to others.

How well or poorly does it integrate with other applications (payments processing, accounting, reporting, or other order marketplaces like OpenTable, Seamless, etc.)?

We don’t integrate the POSitouch with any other systems. It was a conscious business decision not to do so. We keep it separate. We realize it has other features and can be integrated but we chose not to. We’ve found a lot of the marketplaces and other apps that want to tie in can be confusing and add a layer of attention that would have defeated the simplicity that we were going for when we sourced the system.

How much did you pay for the system?

We spent around $20,000 for the system when we brought it in.

About POSitouch Point of Sale System

POSitouch is a point of sale system for use in the restaurant and food service industry. It offers a wide range of features including dining room management, inventory, kitchen monitoring, reporting and time and attendance. POSitouch also offers many other features including reservations, event planning, delivery, tip sharing and many others.

To learn more about POSitouch, you can visit their site here.