The Smoke House Market and Annie Gunn’s have a rich, long-standing history in Chesterfield, Missouri that stretches back to 1937. First, as the Chesterfield Mercantile, a small country general store, and later, as The Smoke House Market. In 1990, Thom and Jane Sehnert the proprietors opened a fine dining restaurant, Annie Gunn’s next door. Named after the family matriarch who immigrated from Ireland to the United States.
History means everything to Annie Gunn’s. The restaurant has had the same executive chef since 1993. Some of the servers and staff have been with the restaurant and market for 30 years. Even tools such as its point of sale system have been with the business for decades. But over time, the team sought a way to keep its history intact while modernizing the customer experience. In 2018, The Smoke House Market and Annie Gunn’s knew it was time for a change for both sides of the business.
The challenge: A laggy, limited legacy POS system
Before switching to Square, The Smoke House Market and Annie Gunn’s were using an Oracle MICROS POS system. They had been using Micros since transitioning from an old-school cash register, marking their first move into technology. While it worked for a time, significant challenges began to emerge.
A primary driver for seeking a new system was the persistent issues with credit card processing at the Market. Customers were increasingly using modern checkout methods like tap payments, but the Micros system wasn’t reliably working for the business. The Apple Pay functionality was particularly inconsistent. “It would never take. It would work one day, but then it wouldn’t work the next,” explained Liam Sehnert, vice president of both parts of the business. This led to a significant bottleneck at the retail counter, especially during the peak holiday season. Physical credit card payments required putting the card in the machine and waiting longer than normal, adding even further to the bottleneck.
Micros also presented financial and data limitations. Getting the hardware and software updates required to continue using Micros quoted a cost “many times” that of the Square hardware. The system also didn’t offer as much inventory control or access to data as the team would’ve liked. Gathering data for sales analysis required running extensive reports through multiple systems, which was cumbersome.
Operationally, the Micros system was difficult to train new staff on, requiring a week of shadowing for cashiers. Updating menus or daily specials was also a hassle, which required going to a single main computer located in the basement office, which was inefficient given the size of the four-story building and the frequency of changes.
The credit card processing issue at the retail store might’ve been the initial catalyst, but the decision to switch the restaurant and the retail businesses over to Square was much deeper. “When I was away at school, I noticed more and more businesses using Square,” said Sehnert. He examined the speed of the checkout process, the user experience, and the digital receipts and emails after purchases, enjoying the overall efficiency. After a bit of research, the decision became clear. “Square was the only system that checked multiple boxes for us for both restaurant and retail, especially with the gift card options for both,” said Sehnert. “The Smoke House Market and Annie Gunn’s are technically two separate businesses, but they’re under one federal ID. Being able to have them in one Square account with multiple locations is a workaround that benefited us in the long run,” he added. The decision to switch
The solution: Tools that enhance the staff and customer experience
Since the switch, both businesses have seen improvements across a range of areas including speed, data management, and customer service. “From operational, financial, and administrative standpoints, Square has been a great improvement,” said Ed Meyer, chief financial officer for Annie Gunn’s and The Smoke House Market.
The checkout time at the retail store, for example, has decreased significantly, eliminating the previous bottleneck during busy seasons. Updating menu items and daily specials is much faster and can be done from anywhere with the click of a button, creating a more flexible staff. “Being able to pull all kinds of data at all times is amazing,” said Ashley Shelton, sous chef at Annie Gunn’s. “I can do it straight from my house, which is great for me because I program it all and I have kids, so I can’t always be there, but I can still feel part of the restaurant,” she added.
Annie Gunn’s and The Smoke House Market can also build stronger customer experiences. With the ability to look up transactions via a phone number or the last four digits on the card, staff can easily handle order mix-ups or answer questions regarding different orders with ease. With improved order accuracy through the Square Kitchen Display System, order satisfaction has improved and staff are able to offer faster service without sacrificing quality. “We used to just type everything in and now we can just hit the buttons for all of the modifiers. The kitchen then sees them more clearly because they’re being printed in a specific way,” said Shelton.
The results: An empowered staff with room to innovate
For both sides of the business, inventory tracking is now more manageable. Staff can check item availability directly from the register, empowering staff to become more independent. Sehnert noted that the team can see everything from how much of a particular item is left to how much of an item was sold during a specific time period. “It’s really given authority and the autonomy to different parts of our staff to look things up on our own,” said Sehnert. “Getting the necessary data to the necessary people and letting them look it up themselves has been very great,” he added.
Shelton benefits from this firsthand. “It’s great to be in the kitchen, like, ‘How many six-ounce filets do I have?’ And I can tell you in two seconds if I’m up to date,” she explained. Knowing how much of an item is available at any given time is key, especially for a chef like Shelton who is constantly working with kitchen staff to identify new dining opportunities for customers.
Annie Gunn’s recently opened its Chef’s Table, which is a space that allows the chefs to create custom dinners for customers and pair them with in-house wines crafted by its award-winning sommelier Glenn Bardgett, and Fáilte Room, a unique private event space for larger gatherings.
Creating a unique dining experience for customers is key for Annie Gunn’s, and then retailing parts of it for customers through The Smoke House Market is how both businesses have thrived for decades. With tools that enable more seamless connection, the team is enjoying spending more time exploring ways to deepen customer relationships. “The best thing we can do is continue to give customers the experience that they’re expecting when they walk in the door,” said Sehnert.
