By Caleb Cochrun, Director of Business Intelligence, Piada Italian Street Food - 1.18.2025
In today’s fast-paced restaurant industry, fragmented technology has long been a challenge for restaurant operators, with disconnected tools for inventory, scheduling, and back-office functions creating inefficiencies and wasted effort.
At Piada Italian Street Food, our approach to leveraging technology is focused on integrating tools to streamline operations, enhancing decision-making, and consolidating operations, which supports long-term growth and delivers exceptional guest experiences. Moreover, mobile-friendly features, such as automated ordering and scheduling, reduce administrative burdens and allow our teams to focus on delivering memorable guest experiences. Read on to learn more about how we leveraged technology to better streamline our operations and create efficiencies across our entire business footprint.
A critical step in this technological journey was transitioning to Restaurant365 (R365), a comprehensive software solution that replaced outdated, labor-intensive systems for inventory management and profit and loss review across our 58 locations.
The impact of R365 was immediate and transformative. Inventory processes that once consumed valuable time were streamlined, saving up to 45 minutes per week per location. Beyond operational efficiencies, the software’s ability to integrate seamlessly with existing systems and its potential for future enhancements made it a scalable solution that aligned perfectly with our growth strategy.
Our guest-facing technology ecosystem is another pillar of our success. In 2017, we began building an online ordering platform, recognizing the potential ROI of digital channels ahead of many competitors.
This effort culminated in the development of our proprietary Piada One app, launched in 2019, which enhances loyalty and simplifies reordering. Piada One members visit 50% more often than non-members, and app users demonstrate even higher frequency. The integration of Olo and Sparkfly into our loyalty and ordering systems ensures a seamless guest experience while enabling greater personalization and reward opportunities.
To support site selection, Piada leverages SiteZeus, a location intelligence platform that uses advanced analytics to evaluate demographics, traffic patterns, and market competition.
This data-driven approach ensures that new locations align with our development strategy while minimizing risk. By analyzing existing location data and combining it with market trends, SiteZeus helps guide our capital investment decisions.
Internally, our proprietary Piada Dashboard, developed by our technology team, consolidates data from multiple sources into a user-friendly interface, empowering teams with actionable insights in real time.
Most recently, in 2024, we implemented Ecotrak to enhance facilities management, reducing equipment downtime and enabling more informed decisions about repair versus replacement. Each of these tools exemplifies Piada’s forward-thinking approach to technology adoption, always with an eye toward scalability and operational success.
Piada remains committed to technology that fosters efficiency, supports growth, and enhances the guest experience. By focusing on integrated solutions tailored to our needs, we’ve not only addressed operational challenges but also positioned ourselves to adapt to future trends in the industry.
Caleb Cochrun serves as the Director of Business Intelligence at Piada Italian Street Food, where he leads data-driven strategies to optimize operations and drive growth. Founded in 2010 by Chris Doody in Columbus, Ohio, Piada Italian Street Food is inspired by the vibrant street food culture of Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region. The fast-casual concept features a customizable menu of piadas, pastas, and salads made from fresh, high-quality ingredients. With 58 locations across seven states, Piada is dedicated to sustainability, community involvement, and delivering authentic, convenient Italian cuisine. Since joining Piada in 2021 as a Senior Financial Analyst, Caleb has leveraged his extensive background in restaurant operations and finance to deliver actionable insights that enhance efficiency across the company. His prior experience includes roles at Thomas Keller Restaurant Group and Morton’s Steakhouse, where he honed his expertise in fine dining operations and financial management.
Are you an industry thought leader with a point of view on restaurant technology that you would like to share with our readers? If so, we invite you to review our editorial guidelines and submit your article for publishing consideration.
