HT Talks Tech: Al Jones, Brand Director of Operations at Roy Rogers Restaurants

HT caught up with Al Jones, Brand Director of Operations at Roy Rogers Restaurants, to get the scoop behind the new prototype and tech overhaul at the beloved brand.

Roy Rogers has remodeled 10 locations to date.  New technology investments include new electronic menu boards, LED lighting, an elevated drive-thru experience, and enhancements to third-party delivery.  

The new prototype features “an elevated drive-thru experience” that features 3M digital headsets, Summit drive-thru timer and brand leaderboard that provides full dashboard analysis on drive-thru speed and efficiency. Also new, a “low tech” static sign that reminds guests to “Please have your payment ready,”  Jones said. 

Tablets Not Required

The new prototype also includes enhancements that streamline how third-party delivery orders are processed. “Tablets for third-party delivery vendors were eliminated by POS database update, which allows for third-party POS integration, which improves speed and accuracy,” Jones explained. 

At Roy Rogers, when it comes to POS systems, NCR is the required brand standard, Jones added.

Founded in 1968, Roy Rogers currently consists of 25 company-owned restaurants and 17 franchise restaurants in six states.

The majority, 34 locations out of 47, have a drive-thru.”Drive-thru restaurants have two sizes, older locations are approximately 3,400 square feet and the new prototype is smaller, approximately 2,700 square feet,” Jones explained.

The 13 non-drive thru locations consist of five inline restaurants and eight non-traditional travel plazas.

Inside the store, the layout was tweaked to accommodate the growing number of online orders for off-premise dining.  “We added three heated cabinets for holding online pickup orders,” Jones said. ”These were installed at locations which had the highest online (Olo)  orders.”

Small changes add up, saving seconds and boosting KPIs. “On the line, the flow of the wrapping paper and dry goods that go in the bags, was reorganized.  Also, we tape the receipts to each bag – so we began using yellow tape for the ‘for here’ customers, and white for drive thru – this allowed staff to identify orders much easier,” Jones explained.