How Bewley’s Iconic Cafe Modernized Operations and Elevated Guest Experience

Located in the heart of Dublin, Bewley’s is more than just a restaurant—it’s a cultural icon. Known for its rich history, in-house bakery, and vibrant cafe, it has been a hub for community, conversations, and culture for nearly a century. Bewley’s Managing Director, Col Campbell, shares how adopting the Toast platform transformed operations, improved guest experiences, and enabled a data-driven approach to growth.

The challenge

Bewley’s was facing significant pain points with their previous POS system:

• Backend challenges: “It was a very time consuming and clunky process to do something simple like change the menu,” said Col.
• Outdated technology: Lagging tablets slowed down service, frustrating staff and guests.
• Fragmented POS and payments: Payments required separate handheld devices, adding complexity and inefficiency to the service process.

Col and his team knew it was time for a change. “We needed a system that was faster, integrated, and could reduce inefficiencies across the board,” he said.

The solution

After evaluating several POS providers, Bewley’s chose Toast for its robust integration capabilities, easy to use backend, and user-friendly handhelds. The deciding factors included:

• Intuitive Handhelds: Easy-to-use devices improved ordertaking and guest interactions. “The staff love the Handhelds; they’re much easier to manage,” said Col.
• Kitchen Display System (KDS): Toast’s KDS streamlined kitchen operations by eliminating third-party hardware and seamlessly connecting the front and back of house.
• Integrated Partner Ecosystem: Toast’s compatibility with Bewley’s existing systems,”Toast is the foundation of our entire operation by integrating with all our key partners Toast’s ability to act as the central hub for our systems is critical to ensuring everything works together,” shared Col.

The results

Bewley’s switched to Toast POS and experienced significant improvements:

• Table turn time reduced by 5 minutes: Toast’s faster system, modern handhelds, and integrated payments improved table turn time from 45 minutes to 40 minutes, significantly boosting capacity. “Taking orders is faster and more intuitive, with easy navigation and helpful prompts guiding the process. Features like presenting the bill directly on the screen with a simple tap save so much time compared to the old way of constantly going back to print receipts,” shared Col.
• Enhanced customer experience: Faster service and streamlined payment options also meant a better guest experience.
• Improved data insights: Toast’s integrated systemeliminated the need for multiple devices and manualreconciliation, leading to more accurate reporting andbetter decision-making and control over operations.