Joia: Authentic Italian food in the heart of Glasgow
Five years ago, Cristiano Strazzullo opened Joia with a mission to serve Glaswegians a different kind of Italian food. It was a risk, but it paid off. Joia’s guests not only love the food, but the atmosphere created by the team. Lightspeed has been supporting that superior service for more than six months now, and we sat down with Cristiano to learn more about his story. Keep reading, and watch the video below.
Business type:
Casual dining restaurant
Products:
Lightspeed Restaurant, Lightspeed Payments, Tableside, KDS, Tableside
Location:
Glasgow
Serving something different
When Joia first opened, Cristiano decided not to sell the classic dishes like Bolognese and carbonara. Instead, they decided to go with more specific plates.
“That was something I never saw before,” says Cristiano. “It was hard because our guests were not used to this kind of Italian cuisine. But we were able to teach them more about Italian food, and people travel much more, so I think they are more conscious about what Italian cuisine is.”
Reducing errors with Tableside
Cristiano switched to Lightspeed eight months ago, implementing Tableside right away. Since making the change, he’s seen service happen much more smoothly, with fewer mistakes.
“Before, we just used a pen and paper to take orders. So the team was writing everything down, sometimes forgetting what they’d written, or mixing up dishes. So that helps us make less mistakes, and face less wastage.”
Joia uses Tableside to streamline their operations.
Find out how you can too.
Doing more with data
One of Cristiano’s favourite parts of Lightspeed is accessing all the reports he is able to generate. “You can create reports on everything you need,” he says. “On your staff, on the food, on the best sellers. And you can get live updates on what you're selling more vs. what you're not selling during the day.”
Cristiano also values the fact that everything he needs is in one place. “We used to use three different programmes,” he explains. “So what we are trying to work out now is to use 100% of the inventory management tools, and menu management as well. I think that it will be very beneficial for the staff.”
What’s next for Joia
“I think in general for hospitality businesses, it’s been hard, with new regulations that are much more strict,” says Cristiano. “So I think that is one of the biggest issues now for hospitality, and also finding the right staff.”
But, they’ve persevered, and they have two big plans: to grow, and to become the top Italian restaurant in the UK. “I know it's hard, but it’s a long-term goal, and we're gonna get there.”
