How Tenzo has helped atis supercharge their restaurant performance

We recently spoke to Philip Honer and Xander Coptcoat, from atis, about their journey into the hospitality industry, how atis started, and how Tenzo has helped them along their journey. 

atis was started by the founders, Philip Honer and Eleanor Warder, who wanted to create a concept centred around delicious, quick service, real food after seeing similar concepts in America that delivered on quality and seasonality whilst maintaining a broader hospitable experience. They were inspired to build that experience for the UK and have now opened 6 locations in the UK, with more planned this year. 

Developed to meet the demands of evolving relationships with food, atis focuses on satisfaction, personal health, sustainable sourcing, and community building: serving up plant-based food that tastes delicious and reflects the values of global growing communities.

They opened their flagship store in Old Street in 2019, and following the success of their next few restaurants and a growing market for healthy food, have hopes to take the concept nationwide.

How atis saved 12% on labour costs with Tenzo 

Challenges around labour 

Labour shortages are prevalent throughout the hospitality industry, and atis was not an exception. These shortages left staff at atis feeling more strained than prior to COVID with the General Managers constantly asking thre HQ team for more staff to ease the strain. 

The teams at the restaurants were overwhelmed, feeling overstretched during the busy periods and increasing the likelihood of burnout. Varying perceptions of labour strain mean that some stores had more staff; leading to reduced profit margins as a result of increased labour costs. 

There needed to be more clarity on the busiest times when staff were most needed, as well as a way to monitor the varying levels of productivity between locations.  

How Tenzo helped

Tenzo helped to bring this clarity to atis’ labour operations. 

“Numerous daily decisions in the business are assisted by Tenzo, not just as one-offs but on an ongoing basis.” – Philip Honer, Founder atis

Tenzo helped the store-level teams to learn from one another and improve their training programmes to maximise productivity and reduce the risk of staff burnout. 

With Tenzo, GMs see on mobile, and in real-time when they are over or understaffed. 

Results

By driving productivity Tenzo was able to save Atis 12% on labour.

How atis streamlined its menu with Tenzo 

Inefficiencies on the menu

atis felt they needed more reliable data to ensure that their menu was as optimised as it could be, with all menu items performing well and contributing appropriately to revenue. Previously, discussions with employees and customers were the main influence on what menu items they perceived as best-selling. 

How Tenzo solved these problems 

Getting access to the right data allowed atis to visualise trends and make data-led decisions around their menu instead of relying on gut instinct. 

Being able to accurately identify which bowls are selling well, or not so well, allowed a diverse menu full of popular items with high contribution margins. Whereas lower-performing items, leading to a drop in profits, were removed. 

Understanding which menu items are selling the best, allowed them to see their success very quickly, and be able to rework or remove some items altogether. 

Results 

Tenzo has allowed atis to create a menu without outliers.  The menu is aligned with customers’ demands, whilst at the same time generating more gross profit than ever before. 

Conclusion 

Prior to using Tenzo, atis experienced common challenges whilst trying to maximise their labour productivity, and in making sure that all menu items were as productive as they could be. 

After introducing Tenzo, operators at atis were empowered to use their data, using easily accessible visual reporting to understand and manage trends to supercharge their performance. Resulting in them removing outliers from their menu and saving 12% on labour costs.