Case Study: Taste Buds Management achieves streamlined expansion and $1M food-cost savings with Restaurant365

Taste Buds Raises the Bar for Restaurant Acquisition Efficiency with Compeat

Taste Buds Management, a Louisiana-based operator of Zea and Semolina restaurants, faced rising food and administrative costs and slow, error-prone manual reporting as it expanded. During the December 2006 acquisition of five Semolina locations, Taste Buds deployed Restaurant365’s back‑office solution (Compeat Advantage back office management and accounting software) to help absorb the new restaurants without adding administrative headcount.

Restaurant365’s software automated ordering, inventory, accounting and reporting, enabling Taste Buds Management to cut food costs by 5% (about $1M in savings), shorten quarterly P&L turnaround from two months to three days, and double locations without expanding the accounting team. The solution also reduced prep labor (from four people for 12+ hours to two people for five hours), improved inventory and recipe control, and streamlined reporting and purchasing through Restaurant365.

Taste Buds Management

Paul Hutson

Vice President of Operations