Tender Cow has come a long way from its origins as a London street food stall to become a multi-million-pound business. Owner Matt Walsh set out to champion British farmers and lesser-known cuts of beef to make steak more affordable and accessible to customers. While he says the decade-long journey has been far from easy, he has no plans of slowing down.
Along with three Tender Cow locations in food halls across Manchester, Matt owns five other restaurants and has more than 50 employees. He’s also opening a ramen restaurant and a hotel. While this kind of hypergrowth is exciting, Matt admits it can be a lot to juggle. He’s always looking for new ways to make running his businesses easier while keeping staff happy and giving them opportunities to grow their careers.
Matt discovered Square at a coffee shop when the point-of-sale (POS) system offered him more options than he had seen before.
“I realised it was exactly what we needed. As a quick-service restaurant, we’re all counter service and my kitchen staff wasn’t getting any tips. The Square POS system made it really easy to leave a tip and to join the loyalty programme without anything extra, like a card or an app.”
– Matt Walsh, Owner, Tender Cow
While Matt switched to Square primarily for its integrated payments function and loyalty programme, he quickly started using other products, such as Square Marketing, Square Loans and Square Restaurants POS, which provides data and insights that help him track valuable information like bestselling items, team member sales and much more.
“One of the main advantages of using Square is that it’s everything you need, all in one platform. Since starting with Square, we’ve definitely improved as a business, especially in terms of staff retention and morale.”
– Matt Walsh, Owner, Tender Cow
Matt noted that he especially appreciates being able to access and easily interpret business information with just a glance at the Square Dashboard.
Tender Cow’s loyalty programme customers spend 84% more per visit on average compared to customers who are not a part of the programme.
The Square Restaurant POS tipping function increases kitchen staff wages up to £200 per month.
Square improves customer service and staff morale.
The Square Restaurant POS has not only boosted the kitchen staff’s monthly wages and morale, but it’s also incentivised them to maintain a high level of customer service.
“Working with Square has added a huge amount of value to the business overall, especially with the kitchen staff. They know that at the end of every transaction the customer is asked if they want to leave a tip, which in turn has improved customer service,”
– Matt Walsh, Owner, Tender Cow
He’s also excited about the success of Square Loyalty as a way to drive sales and keep customers coming back. Tender Cow’s loyalty programme customers spend an average of £35 per visit compared to £19 for customers who are not part of the programme. Matt plans to use Square Marketing to increase enrolment in the loyalty programme and improve customer engagement.
“My number one job is to constantly move the business forward and show my team that there are always going to be opportunities for growth and career development. Square helps me achieve that.”
– Matt Walsh, Owner, Tender Cow
Expanding your business with Square Loans.
Matt recently used Square Loans to diversify his business by investing in a new boutique hotel.
“I chose Square for financial funding because it was so easy to apply for the loan. You just have to click a button and don’t have to deal with anyone or anything else.”
– Matt Walsh, Owner, Tender Cow
After ten years of building his Tender Cow empire with blood, sweat and tears, Matt hasn’t needed any outside investors. He has big ambitions for the future and hopes to keep working with Square every step of the way.
“My number one job is to constantly move the business forward and show my team that there are always going to be opportunities for growth and career development. Square helps me achieve that,” says Matt.
Squareup Europe Ltd is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority under the Electronic Money Regulations 2011 (registered reference no. 900846).
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