Franchising

Rick Bayless-owned fast casual goes all digital

October 13, 2020

In an effort to pivot to 100% digital ordering amid the coronavirus, Tortas Frontera, owned by Chef Rick Bayless, has partnered with Tillster, a provider of digital ordering and engagement solutions for restaurants, to deploy a rapid solution for online ordering and delivery and increase operational efficiencies.

In January 2020, Tortazo, the newest restaurant concept by Bayless, opened its doors in Chicago's Willis Tower. The Mexican-inspired eatery was in the process of expanding its business with the addition of online ordering when the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic caused Willis Tower to empty, resulting in Tortazo to temporarily close its doors in March. The restaurant has since reopened and sought to pivot quickly and adapt to the new environment by creating brand awareness and reaching customers through a digital interface, according to a company press release.

Adopting the more familiar Tortas Frontera brand, a chef Bayless cult-favorite found in the Chicago O'Hare Airport, the brand opened a ghost kitchen to serve customers in a 100% digital environment.

"We wanted to meet our customers where they are, so the transition to a ghost kitchen and digital ordering was critical," Patrick Little, director of Operations, said in the release. "To be successful, we needed to get up and running quickly with a familiar and beloved brand, and Tillster's solutions allowed us to deploy a new integrated digital system."

In the effort to bolster Tortazo's business, Tillster leveraged the well-known Tortas Frontera name for the secondary branding of the ghost kitchen and also quickly built a brand-specific website to support both direct delivery and delivery through third-party partners, including DoorDash and UberEats. The highly automated system accepts orders through a digital ordering platform, seamlessly integrates them into the restaurant's POS system, and dispatches the delivery service provider's driver to pick up the order and deliver it to the consumer, Hope Neiman, Tillster CMO said.

"At Tillster, we are committed to providing our customers with the needed flexibility to do what is best for their business as quickly as possible. In the current environment, that means pivoting quickly to adapt to digital ordering while continuing to foster exceptional customer service," Neiman said. "Armed with our tools, Tortazo has an arsenal of tools at their disposal, for both direct and third party usage, and will continue building brand equity and a success that will thrive beyond the current pandemic."