First Watch franchisee uses AI to schedule prep tasks in equal portions each day, leading to reduced costs, labor, and comps

Prep Assistant customer, Mac Haik Restaurant Group, A First Watch Franchisee

About

Company
Mac Haik Restaurant Group

Headquarters
Houston, Texas

Background
Mac Haik Restaurant Group is a 23-location franchisee of First Watch, a leading American daytime dining restaurant chain. Known for its vibrant, community-oriented dining experience, First Watch operates and franchises restaurants, earning accolades like Yelp's top restaurant brand in 2023 for its quality and customer appeal.

Challenges

Mac Haik Restaurant Group, a franchisee of First Watch, saw an opportunity to shift from manually managing prep tasks to normalizing prep through automation. Initially, they relied on Excel spreadsheets, which managers were required to manually fill out daily. With varying levels of understanding among managers, who struggled with accurately calculating prep amounts, the system led to inconsistencies in food production, cost management, and labor efficiency.

Solution

Mac Haik – First Watch implemented the Prep Assistant to automate their prep task management through demand predictions, initially starting with on-demand prep instructions each day and gradually evolving it to a more efficient frequency-based system – Prep in Frequency (PIF). This new approach schedules prep tasks in equal portions each day based on the next day's demand, rather than scheduling prep tasks each day based on that day's demand. This streamlined process was a stark contrast to the previous method, which relied on manual methods and varying levels of manager knowledge.

"PreciTaste's Prep Assistant and the new 'Prep in Frequency' feature optimize food costs, control labor costs, ensure the freshest products, and make sure we never run out of a dish. With AI-driven insights, we expect even greater outcomes by reducing the amount of time our people spend prepping and getting them to the line sooner to help us drive our top-line sales through faster tickets and reduced errors."

BENEFITS

Standardization Across Locations

With Prep in Frequency (PIF), every location follows the same process of prep task management, and prep tasks are spread out evenly throughout the week, ensuring uniformity of the amount of preps per day, while ensuring quality.

Consistency & Adaptability

The system recalibrates when food runs out earlier than expected, ensuring enough is available for the next day. If a location runs out, the system adjusts and recalibrates for the next cycle, ensuring availability while reducing waste.

Crew & Customer Satisfaction

Staff appreciate the accuracy and ease of use of the tool, which frees up their time to have more labor on the line, leading to reduced ticket times and errors, both enhancing their customers' experiences.

Prep Assistant customer, Mac Haik Restaurant Group, A First Watch Franchisee

RESULTS

90%

Accuracy for Food Prep Estimates: Based on 95% accurate AI-forecasting, leading to significant operational improvements.

50 bps (basis points)

Reduction in Cost of Goods: Attributed to reduced waste through better prep forecasting.

40 bps (basis points)

Reduction in Labor: Due to the redistribution of labor hours for improved efficiency.

80 bps (basis points)

Reduction in Complimentary Meals and Promotions: Due to better and faster execution in the kitchen and improved customer experience.

Streamlined Operations

Reduced Ticket Processing Times and Fewer Errors: Faster service delivery with improved accuracy.