Case Study: Canlis achieves successful pandemic pivots and high-volume service with Lightspeed Restaurant (U-Series)

How Canlis is Changing the Definition of ‘Hospitality’

Canlis, the 70-year-old, family-run fine-dining restaurant in Seattle, faced sudden COVID-era closures and disrupted delivery routes that forced rapid reinvention of service to keep staff employed and support the community. To plan and predict outcomes for pivots like burger drive-throughs, a bagel shack, family meals and drive-in events, Canlis turned to Upserve’s analytics and ordering tools.

Upserve provided analytics plus the Upserve Online Ordering platform and Tableside POS for car-side service, enabling Canlis to forecast sales, identify top-selling dishes/drinks/merchandise, and perform minute-by-minute inventory checks during high-volume events. With Upserve’s tools they handled thousands of burgers in a single day, ran efficient seven-server car-side operations, sustained revenue while fundraising for causes like the Black Farmers Collective, and continued to launch new offerings such as Thanksgiving to-go.

Canlis

Amanda Lynn Sullivan

Dining Room Manager