Urbanbelly Case Study
Automated prep tool reduces food costs and waste while creating consistent labor efficiencies
ABOUT
Company
Urbanbelly
Headquarters
Chicago, Illinois
Background
Urbanbelly is a casual Asian-fusion restaurant concept crafted by award-winning Chef Bill Kim, with locations in Chicago’s Wicker Park and Time Out Market in Fulton Market. The menu features bold, innovative dishes like ramen, dumplings, and fried rice bowls, with vegetarian and gluten-free options. Committed to quality and creativity, Urbanbelly delivers a vibrant, community-focused dining experience.
CHALLENGES
Chef Bill Kim, founder of Urbanbelly, is committed to
serving his customers exceptional Asian-inspired dishes in a casual, flavorful, and accessible way. Before the Prep Assistant, his crew faced operational hurdles, with the
bulk of their time being consumed by repetitive tasks such as manually tracking inventory and collecting data. These inefficiencies hindered the overall workflow and detracted from the company’s focus on the customer
experience.
SOLUTION
The introduction of the Prep Assistant automated Urbanbelly’s ingredient prep processes, streamlining routine tasks like tracking and data collection while providing real-time crew instructions with easy-to-follow
visuals. This system accelerated workflow efficiencies and gave employees, managers, and Chef Bill greater confidence in the overall business performance.
Chef Bill Kim
Founder
Urbanbelly
BENEFITS
With automation in place, Chef Bill gained more time for creative endeavors in the kitchen. He could refocus on the company mission, while having full confidence that the crew found their work more manageable, knowing their tasks were assigned and scheduled
efficiently.
Moreover, customer service improved, and managers were able to monitor and assess store performance easily, allowing them to better oversee operations without being tied down by manual estimates and
tracking.
“It’s almost like a miracle-no more paper, no more checking off a list. Now we can see the bigger picture:
revenue, prep quantities, completed tasks, and more”
Chef Bill Kim
Founder, Urbanbelly
OWNER'S PERSPECTIVE
50%
Reduction in food waste
1%
Reduction in food costs
“Don’t hesitate to adopt Al in your
back-of-house – embrace it now.
People often see Al as the future, but it’s already here and worth investing in if you want to stay ahead ofthe
pack and run your restaurant
sustainably.”
Chef Bill Kim
Founder
Urbanbelly
RESULTS
Urbanbelly saw significant, measurable improvements, including a 1% reduction in food costs that can be largely attributed to a 10% decrease in food waste. Chef Bill also measured upwards of one hour saved per day per manager and
crew member. These savings have directly contributed to the restaurant’s overall labor
efficiency through automation.
Chef Bill also measured upwards of one hour saved per day per manager and
crew member. These savings have directly contributed to the restaurant’s overall labor
efficiency through automation.
Revenue Prediction:
Predicts revenue for the next 7 days.
Ingredient Forecasting: Determines needed quantities of ingredients.
Task Assignment: Managers assign prep tasks to crew members.
Task Execution:
Crew checks the prep assistant for assigned tasks.
Completion Tracking:
Tasks are marked as done upon completion.
Daily Reporting:
Managers review performance data and sales comparisons.
Cloud Access:
Data can be accessed and modified anytime, anywhere.
HOW IT WORKS
• Revenue Prediction: Predicts revenue for the next 7 days.
• Ingredient Forecasting: Determines needed quantities of ingredients.
• Task Assignment: Managers assign prep tasks to crew members.
• Task Execution: Crew checks the prep assistant for assigned tasks.
• Completion Tracking: Tasks are marked as done upon completion.
• Daily Reporting: Managers review performance data and sales comparisons.
• Cloud Access: Data can be accessed and modified anytime, anywhere.