Café Du Pays

Hear why Heather chose BevSpot in our ‘On the House’ series

Signing Up for BevSpot

After closing one of their trio of restaurants in 2015, Heather and her owner-partners wanted to open a new concept in the same space that offered a sense of nostalgia for local French-Canadians. “My family is part of the French settlers that came to Canada in the 1600’s and settled Quebec and the region, and trickled down into New England. We wanted to open a restaurant that served the food that you really can’t buy,” Heather explains.

When it came time to open Café Du Pays, Heather knew BevSpot was a must-have to streamline her ordering and inventory process from day one. Based on her previous experience using BevSpot at State Park and Mamaleh’s Deli, the decision was a no-brainer.

“Using the current restaurants’ [BevSpot] platforms to get the other restaurant going is really helpful,” says Heather. “I couldn’t imagine doing these restaurants without keeping BevSpot at all three.”

Working with Technology

Many restaurant owners are hesitant to introduce a technology into their process because of the added financial cost. For Heather, the benefits of software far outweigh the costs. “Other restaurants pay no [software] subscription fees and they use a spreadsheet,” Heather explains. “But I feel bad for them, because even if they have a strong spreadsheet for inventory, they still have to order through text, an email, or a phone call, which I couldn’t imagine! I just don’t know how they do it. It must take them so much time.”

In fact, using BevSpot at all three restaurants empowered her to find additional software solutions that could improve other aspects of their business. “We were really emboldened by the power of BevSpot to go out and try other products for other facets of the business. We have a scheduling product, one for planning parties, one for tip distribution, the list goes on and on.”

It’s important for Heather to have a strong relationship with the companies that make the software products she’s using. The ability to give transparent feedback or report an issue with her account—and be heard—is really important to her.

“The ‘Contact Us’ button is really easy to find, and I always look for similar transparency with our other [software] products. I urge my colleagues to find that ‘Contact’ button and give feedback if there’s a bug or a feature request they have.”

“I really like how BevSpot has integrated the ‘Contact Us’ button on the main screen—it’s so easy.”

The Results

As the beverage director for multiple restaurants, Heather’s time is precious. The ability to order beer, wine, and spirits for the entire group through BevSpot saves her time and headaches.

“The ordering piece, for me, is the thing that I really couldn’t trade. I really like having the orders go through BevSpot. The phone calls and the texting—I haven’t done it since 2014. I’d hate to go back.”

As a long-time BevSpot user, Heather’s inventory process is already fast for each restaurant. Heather’s team helps her take inventory, counting the bottles on their phones while they’re all logged in to BevSpot at the same time. “I don’t remember what inventory was like, but it keeps getting faster, which is surprising and pleasant. Café Du Pays is 2 hours max, Mamaleh’s is 2 hours, and State Park is 3-4 hours.”

A faster inventory count means she has the time to think critically about the inventory metrics she’s seeing. “I have time to reconcile any issues that pop up when I hit ‘complete,’” explains Heather. “I can go in and figure out what the issues are with ordering or things going in the wrong place, especially with cooking wine and cooking spirits.”

“I have time to reconcile the numbers at the end of [inventory] because I’m not racing around counting the bottles.”