Case Study - Pasta Mia
Authentic Italian Cuisine in the Heart of Chicago
For more than 25 years, Pasta Mia has served up authentic Italian dishes and friendly service in four Chicago locations. Owner Pete Caruso is proud of his restaurants’ reputation.
“Pasta Mia is a friendly casual family restaurant concept in the suburbs,” says Caruso, “a place where our customers can dine with their kids on the best Italian cuisine in the area.”
With dine-in, bar, take out, catering, party rooms, and delivery, Pasta Mia offers guests everything they need and then some. “After 26 years, our guests have come to know and love us for our quality, authentic Italian food,” Pete adds, “not to mention our excellent friendly service and good prices!”
Back in 2004, Pasta Mia was growing too large to handle business with handwritten tickets and a cash register. Caruso knew he needed a point of sale system to grow, and after considerable research on POS systems, chose SpeedLine for its delivery capabilities.
“We needed something that could streamline our delivery,” Caruso says “but also handle our dine-in and bar service too.” SpeedLine fit the bill, and within months, Caruso was noticing savings in almost every area of the business.
Business was good, but the profits were even better: “We kept up with the demand [after installing SpeedLine], and I noticed even more savings in labor and food cost.” He raves: “I bet the system paid for itself that first year!”
Improved delivery performance was the first thing they noticed: “We immediately started saving at least 20 minutes a night per driver,” Caruso says. “Before SpeedLine, it would take us forever to track every delivery, and now it’s a few simple steps to cash out and clock out.”
Caruso and his team also use their SpeedLine POS for database marketing. Every month they run a ‘lazy customer’ report, and target a limited-time offer or coupon deal especially designed to recover lapsed customers. “It’s our best promotion,” Caruso says. “We see a significant number come back in, and rarely do I see the same customers on the next month’s report!”
In 2011, the business expanded again when the adjacent storefront became available in the Bartlett location. Pete jumped on the opportunity to add over 1800 feet of space. They were able to expand the dining room and extend the bar: a move he estimates doubled his business within a few short months, and one he says he could not have handled without his SpeedLine POS.
In 2013, Caruso opened a fifth location, branding this one—a new, more upscale bar and restaurant concept in downtown Chicago—Pranzi.
“Pranzi caters to a more night-time crowd, with a large bar and pizza room,” mentions Pete, “and later in the evening, the lights go down and the floor opens up for dancing.”
“SpeedLine has helped us grow in every single way possible,” Caruso says. “The ease of use, new table service, and delivery capabilities are a perfect match for our restaurants.”
Pasta Mia and Pranzi are on track to keep growing. With Pranzi catering to the bustling Chicago night life, and Pasta Mia continuing to exceed expectations in casual family dining, Caruso is looking to add another bar to his successful restaurant portfolio.
Here’s to the next 26 years!
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