Technology

How Grégoire Leverages Technology for Operational Excellence and Franchisee Success

Grégoire isn’t just about serving gourmet food in a fast casual setting. It’s about rethinking how a small restaurant runs, with technology doing the heavy lifting.

Grégoire, the French bistro-inspired fast casual franchise founded by culinary veteran Grégoire Jacquet, brings gourmet food to the fast casual world. Behind the counter, it also relies on technology to streamline operations and set franchisees up for success. Here’s how.

Smart Use of Space

Grégoire’s Berkeley location is compact, but it makes the most of its space. An outdoor ordering kiosk lets customers place orders without crowding the small indoor area. The kiosk is part of a broader approach built around an integrated point-of-sale (POS) system.

“Technology is great when it works. Our POS covers everything: the website, the marketing, the operations. We use technology to make payment, rewards, pick-up, everything easy. The inventory system is all connected as well. Everything is automatic. You don’t have to do anything but look at paperwork, look at reports and pay the bills. Some of the pain of doing business as a small business owner is all gone.”Grégoire Jacquet, Founder

Mobile ordering, QR codes and online delivery apps keep ordering smooth for guests, while loyalty programs and gift cards help bring them back.

“The key is that technology needs to be combined with human experience. When it comes to a kiosk, for example, I don’t want everybody to have to use a kiosk. I just want the option. I also want a front-facing POS.”Grégoire Jacquet, Founder

The Hub-and-Spoke Model

At the center of Grégoire’s operations is its hub-and-spoke model. Ingredients are sourced and prepared at a central culinary hub, then delivered to each franchise location daily. That takes many traditional restaurant headaches, like managing vendors and portion control, off the franchisee’s plate.

“In the restaurant business, there are different parts of operation: there is the front of the house and the back of the house. The essence of Grégoire’s hub-and-spoke model is simple: take care of that whole pre-cook process for our franchisees.”Grégoire Jacquet, Founder

The model keeps quality consistent across locations and makes daily operations much simpler. Staff assemble dishes from ingredients the hub has already prepared, guided by a simple software system that manages production, availability, delivery, invoicing and more.

Connected Systems

Grégoire uses a suite of tools for vendor ordering and point of sale that work together. They help with everything from inventory management and food costing to payroll and scheduling.

“The key is that tech takes away work you used to do. You don’t do accounting, don’t do invoice input, don’t do purchasing. All you do is look at your business and ask, ‘Can I do things better?’”Grégoire Jacquet, Founder

Looking Ahead with AI

Grégoire keeps looking for ways to improve. At the time of this article, the brand was working with a partner that uses AI to forecast sales and optimize inventory, analyzing daily data to predict demand so ingredients stay fresh and waste goes down.

“The partnership will help us use AI to analyze all the data that we have coming in daily and use it to forecast our sales. This data can then go to the culinary hub, where it can help us make predictions and produce better results for franchisees.”Grégoire Jacquet, Founder

From the hub-and-spoke model to its connected systems, Grégoire is built to give franchisees a simpler, well-supported way to run a restaurant.

This information is not intended as an offer to sell, or the solicitation of an offer to buy, a franchise. Franchise offerings are made only by Franchise Disclosure Document.