Dazzle Jazz Club Hits a High Note with Toast Mobile Tablets and Kitchen Display System

After 13 years with PosiTouch, Dazzle was ready to rethink its technology while moving into a new, larger venue. General Manager Matt Ruff says the right technology has enabled Dazzle to create an intimate supper club experience even in the expanded venue.

“Our guests come to see a great concert,” he says. “When we expanded into our larger space, we knew we needed technology that could grow with us.”

An Extensible, Modern POS System

To Matt, a legacy point-of-sale system represented antiquated technology of the past.

“We knew there had to be a better option than the traditional system,” he says. “Price is a big issue with those legacy systems. They have a huge upfront price tag and you’re totally locked in. We didn’t want to be stuck with an antiquated system that wasn’t moving ahead with us. There had to be something out there that was more modern and extensible.”

As a cloud-based system, Toast is equipped to expand with the business.

“Toast meshed really well with what we do here,” Matt says. “As our business grows, it’s super easy to add more hardware because there’s no extra configuration. We don’t need to pay a technician to come out and do wiring and installation every time.”

Faster Turn Times with Handheld Tablets

Guests at Dazzle are served a full meal during the concert, which requires efficient service before, during, and after the show. The staff utilizes Toast's mobile POS system on tablets to take and process orders in the large space.

“With our large dining rooms, it wasn’t practical to only have static terminals for the POS system,” Matt says. “The layout of our space called for more mobility. Our staff uses Toast handhelds to take orders and payments right at the table. They also have the option to print regular receipts and use the stationary terminal.”

Matt found that the Dazzle staff who favor the handheld tablets tend to have faster turn times.

“When the show is over, we have to drop the checks all at the same time,” Matt says. “With the handhelds, guests get their check quicker and the server’s able to turn the table faster. During the rush, that makes a huge impact.”

With more options for point-of-sale access, every dining room is more efficient - including the outdoor patio.  

“We used to have servers waiting in line to punch in their order,” Matt remembers. “That never happens now. There’s no delay in getting the tickets to the kitchen. Handhelds have helped out everybody - from guests to servers to kitchen staff.”

Effective Expediters with KDS 

Dazzle's kitchen staff has also seen positive effects from an upgraded restaurant point of sale system. Kitchen display screens have been transformative for kitchen operations.

“I can’t tell you how much we love our kitchen display system with Toast,” Matt gushes. “It’s an extremely valuable tool for expediters to organize how checks are coming up without getting in the way of the kitchen staff. Expos can see how long a ticket has been in the queue and what needs to go out together.”

Prior to using Toast KDS screens, expediters borrowed printed tickets from the line, leading to lost or misordered tickets. With the display screen, expos get a clear view of the kitchen without having to interfere with individual prep stations.

“With our Toast setup, tickets print at each prep station while the kitchen display screen gives the expediter the full picture,” Matt says. “The KDS help us communicate better. The expediter can see ticket times organized by color codes. When it switches from green to purple, we know we need to move faster on that ticket. We can immediately gauge how in the weeds we are.”  

The ability to have Toast handhelds send tickets immediately to the kitchen display screen has helped Dazzle make operations at their new large space a success.

“Toast handhelds and KDS have streamlined our workflows,” Matt says. “Toast is on the cutting edge. We’re excited to partner with a company that’s forward-thinking.”