The Star Inn The City:

How OpenTable’s system speed assists a busy riverside brasserie in York

Fast facts

	Restaurant name: The Star Inn The City
	Type of restaurant: Independent
	Locations: UK
	Year founded: 2013

The Star Inn The City is an award-winning brasserie that rests on the banks of the River Ouse in York. Established in the historic Lendal Engine House, it welcomes diners into a Grade II listed building that once housed the river’s waterworks engine.

Nowadays, it’s home to The Star Inn The City’s exquisite cuisine, cosy ambience and lush riverside views. As General Manager Neringa Didzgalvyte says, “people look at our beautiful terrace in the summertime and think ‘we would like to have a drink there!’”

“The speed is one of the strengths of the [OpenTable] system.”

With the location drawing in a steady stream of covers, Neringa says they need restaurant management software that’s powerful and robust enough to keep up with the demand. This is where OpenTable comes in. “The speed is one of the strengths of the system. We do have people coming through the door constantly, and we simply don’t have time to wait for a system to catch up with what’s happening in the restaurant. So that’s the reason why we changed to OpenTable.”

Fast facts

	Restaurant name: The Star Inn The City
	Type of restaurant: Independent restaurant
	Location: UK
	Year founded: 2013

The Star Inn The City is an award-winning brasserie that rests on the banks of the River Ouse in York. Ensconced in the historic Lendal Engine House, it welcomes diners into a Grade II listed building that once housed the river’s waterworks engine.

The speed of OpenTable’s system makes the difference: a quick response for busy restaurants

With these big draw cards attracting in a steady stream of covers, Neringa says they need restaurant management software that’s powerful and robust enough to keep up with the demand. This is where OpenTable comes in. “The speed is one of the strengths of the system. We do have people coming through the door constantly, and we simply don’t have time to wait for a system to catch up with what’s happening in the restaurant. So that’s the reason why we changed to OpenTable.”

More than 7,000 covers with OpenTable

While Neringa finds OpenTable indispensable as a table management system, she’s also thrilled with the number of additional bookings it brings to The Star Inn The City each year. “We had over 100,000 covers last year, and over 7,000 of them booked through [the] OpenTable [network)].”

More than 50% of the bookings made through OpenTable’s restaurant reservation software were from out-of-town visitors who may not have discovered The Star Inn The City otherwise. As Neringa says, “that’s a significant number of people visited our restaurant.”

“OpenTable is worth the money. It is reliable, fast, and has all the features you can think of.”

Neringa Didzgalvyte, General Manager
The Star Inn The City

OpenTable: The Star Inn The City’s secret to streamlining every shift

Neringa finds that she’s able to dial in the restaurant’s daily needs with a high degree of precision thanks to OpenTable’s restaurant management software. “We tend to use the Shift Occupancy and Cover Trend Reports to plan our rotas ahead, as well as how much produce we need to order, especially during quieter periods.”

This allows them to avoid food wastage and ensure the restaurant is always staffed to suit the number of covers expected. Even last-minute bookings don’t throw a spanner into the works. “We had over 500 diners last year who booked within 90 minutes prior to the booking, and they found us through the OpenTable website.” With features like the Cover Trend Reports, OpenTable helps Neringa plan for these last-minute bookings and fill tables that would otherwise have gone empty.

With all these features combined, Neringa says she couldn’t be happier with her choice to invest in the restaurant management software.

“… It’s a great platform. I would definitely recommend it.”

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