Please note that Amboy was compensated by Square.
Chef Alvin Cailan is a true sandwich connoisseur. As the chef behind West Coast breakfast destination Eggslut and the eyes behind First We Feast’s “The Burger Show,” Chef Cailan has always had a deep appreciation for innovating between two slices of bread. Naturally, this innovation led him to craft his next culinary adventure: Amboy, a burger shop in Los Angeles. Similar to Eggslut, a unique dining experience is what sets Amboy apart from competitors.
“I’m a Filipino American, and they call Filipino Americans ‘Amboy’… [so the restaurant] is like Filipino influence, but still American.” In addition to its Filipino influence, Chef Cailan also ensures Amboy places special emphasis on quality. He specifically hires trained and seasoned chefs. He forges bonds with his suppliers and the communities he builds in. And he’s deeply thoughtful about what goes onto his burgers, all the way down to the mayonnaise. “We care about our pricing and our margins, but it’s non-negotiable when it comes to the quality and what we put in our body,” Cailan asserted.
This non-negotiable factor led to a host of business challenges. Namely, how can Amboy maintain a certain level of quality and consistency while scaling the business?
The challenge: Delivering a consistent experience
With a critical focus on quality, Chef Cailan needed tools that would free up time for him to source the best ingredients on a larger scale. He also wanted tools that would be easy for staff across a number of locations to learn and understand so that he could eventually transition into a more hands-off role. “We don’t want to be cooking burgers and running restaurants over 80 years old. So, how do we teach and replicate our methods?” Cailan posed rhetorically.
As Amboy blossomed into a number of brick-and-mortar locations (currently sitting at four) with more complex needs like delivery, he was faced with the challenge of having to dive deeper into the operational side of a growing business. He needed a way to manage staff across locations, more advanced analytics, a seamless way to engage with customers, and a way to invoice suppliers. More importantly, he needed tools that were able to adapt to the times and easy for his staff to learn.
The solution: Generating operational efficiency through the Square ecosystem
Chef Cailan ultimately made the decision to adopt a suite of Square tools like Square Point of Sale and Square Invoices. “I hate accounting; I hate inventory; I hate all that. And that’s why I fell in love with Square,” Cailan said. He uses over nine Square tools to manage everything from managing staff to handling third-party delivery systems. With so many aspects of his business handled through Square, he’s able to establish a fuller picture of his business and gather valuable insights that impact decision-making.
“[Through Square] I can see what I’m doing well with, what I’m not doing well with, what we need to push, what we what we need to chill out on. It’s really analytical and it makes my life easier for sure.”
Through a suite of integrated tools, he’s been able to properly, which he notes is key to scaling more efficiently. He attributes Square as critical in helping him chart a path toward growth dating back to his food truck days.
When we [sold] 150 sandwiches on a food truck, Square was able to tell me where, what time, and how much on my cell phone in 2011. Like you got me for life at that point, you know?”
Chef Alvin Cailan
The impact: Crafting a durable business
Because he dedicated the time he needed to focus on his ingredients, staff development, and his craft overall, Chef Cailan has created a business with a soul. “Creating something with a soul. A heartbeat. Those are the ones that will stick,” Cailan explained. Combining this soul with a genuine community connection through avenues including 50/50 marketing has been integral to his ability to scale. Chef Cailan describes 50/50 marketing as a way to establish trust with customers in communities where he builds new locations. In other words, he likes to give out 50% and then sell 50%. “50/50 marketing is how you can get people to talk about your food and you. Then they take ownership of your brand. It becomes their brand as well because you’ve created this rapport with them,” Cailan explained.
The benefits: Building in different communities with purpose
The concept of building and connecting with purpose stretches across every area of Amboy. From the staff to the community to mentorship, it’s one of the many things that continually sets Amboy apart. “Learning about every single person who has decided to make [burgers] their career as well, what makes it work, why they’ve been around for 100 years … All of that goes into it when I make a burger,” Cailan explained. “And I think people can taste that.”
