Restaurant Capacity Management and Pickup Order Timing with Scott Siegel

00:05 – Audrey Hogan:
So tell me a little about Curbit and what you do.

00:09 – Scott Siegel:
Sure. Curbit is a capacity management solution for the restaurant industry.

00:14 – Audrey Hogan:
What does that mean?

00:15 – Scott Siegel:
Good question. We make sure digital orders start at the best time and help brands coordinate guest arrivals so they pick up food on time. Hot food stays hot, cold food stays cold. Orders are sent to the kitchen in sync with other in-store orders. We’re solving an industry-wide problem — multiple channels now hit the same point of sale, creating a bottleneck. So we improve guest experience with fresh food and help brands maximize output during peak times.

01:07 – Audrey Hogan:
When brands come to you, what do they expect you’ll solve — and what surprises them?

01:17 – Scott Siegel:
Most brands just want basic communication with guests — promising when food will be ready and delivering on that promise. Many systems can’t do that reliably. That’s our hook. But we analyze 100% of orders — on-premise and off-premise. We control when off-premise orders hit the kitchen and set accurate guest expectations. Plus, we give operations data they usually don’t have — down to ticket times by 15-minute intervals — and pinpoint locations that are inconsistent. So we help brands create consistent operations and pickup experiences.

02:58 – Audrey Hogan:
At this show, I hear vendors saying “under promise and over deliver.” You’re helping brands do that too — for their guests.

03:30 – Scott Siegel:
Exactly. When I say “capacity management,” no one knows what that means — because it didn’t exist pre-pandemic. Back then, wait times were clear and mostly inside the four walls. Off-premise changed everything. So we created a new category. Trust is critical. We’re a real-time solution — it can’t be 90% right; it must be 100% right. We take a walk-to-run approach: first, we get all the kitchen data and show the brand exactly where the problems are. Then we do a trial so their team tests it. By the time we go live, everyone knows it’ll work and have big impact.

05:33 – Audrey Hogan:
I love that you start with data and show the gap first. Many brands feel they must gamble on new tech to stay competitive — but you make it clear upfront.

06:06 – Scott Siegel:
Yeah. Restaurant tech is complex. There are so many tech pieces now — I don’t envy tech leaders trying to pick what they need. We’re unique because we touch online ordering, POS, and the kitchen. That means we can advise brands as they evaluate other tech decisions, even though we’re not consultants. Our goal is to help brands solve problems — whether we solve it directly or point them to the right partner.

07:27 – Audrey Hogan:
Exactly. This industry runs on “phone a friend!”

07:34 – Scott Siegel:
Totally. We don’t have a big sales team — it’s mostly me and a few others. Our growth comes from happy customers telling others about us.

08:02 – Audrey Hogan:
I see your banner — lots of integrations. How do you feel about efforts to define standard data architecture for the industry?

08:23 – Scott Siegel:
Love it. No two brands or locations are alike. Making tech stack decisions is tough — so having best practices helps. You never want to implement something and then unwind it because it doesn’t integrate. Tech should never get in the way of growth.

09:32 – Audrey Hogan:
So true. You’ve been to FSTEC before?

09:37 – Scott Siegel:
Yep, this is our fourth year.

09:47 – Audrey Hogan:
Sessions, surprises?

09:47 – Scott Siegel:
Honestly, no sessions — just busy having these conversations. It’s a great event because everyone’s here and focused on tech.

10:13 – Audrey Hogan:
If I’m a restaurant wanting to know if Curbit is a fit, where should I start?

10:26 – Scott Siegel:
Visit Curbit.com. It’s easy — we just need access to kitchen data, which takes about 15 minutes. There’s no hardware, no training. We use your existing systems and make them smarter. We start by showing the real timing problem. If we do that, we have a 100% conversion rate so far — because seeing the data makes the value obvious.

11:51 – Audrey Hogan:
Anything else brands should know?

11:55 – Scott Siegel:
We rely on a KDS system to get data. So if you have a kitchen display system and do off-premise, we can probably solve a big problem for you.

12:22 – Audrey Hogan:
Final question — biggest restaurant tech trend no one’s talking about?

12:32 – Scott Siegel:
Not AI — everyone’s talking about that! It’s the continued shift to digital. Labor challenges mean screens can handle repetitive tasks so restaurants get back to true hospitality: great food, real human connections.

13:20 – Audrey Hogan:
People first — love it.

13:33 – Scott Siegel:
Exactly.