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Process
AI Operations Assistant for Restaurants & Food
Rota requests, supplier orders, kitchen repairs and opening and closing checklists handled for your team, so managers stay on the floor.
Between services, managers field shift swaps, chase late produce, report a broken fryer and check who closed down last night. This edition gives general managers, kitchen leads and shift managers one place for all of it. It checks rota requests against your rules, tracks supplier orders and deliveries, chases repairs and records opening and closing checklists. Anything outside your rules waits for a manager's approval.
- Shift swaps and rota requests checked against your own rules
- Supplier orders, deliveries and kitchen repairs followed up until closed
- Opening and closing checklists completed and recorded every shift
$5,400
20–30 working days
Optional maintenance $270/mo
What it is
AI Operations Assistant for Restaurants & Food is a back-of-house assistant for your managers and kitchen team. It takes rota and shift requests, tracks supplier orders and deliveries, logs maintenance jobs and runs opening and closing checklists on one channel. It works inside your rules and sends exceptions to a named manager. It does not take guest bookings.
Why businesses buy it
Restaurant managers lose hours to work guests never see. A cook asks to swap a shift by text. The fish order arrives short. The walk-in fridge needs a repair, and nobody is sure the closing checklist was finished. Each item is small, but together they pull managers off the floor during service. This edition puts those requests in one place and follows them up the same way every time. Your rules decide what is confirmed straight away and what waits for a manager. The Scope Card sets out the channel, systems and workflows in writing before you order.
Problems this solves
Shift swaps get agreed by text and the rota never catches up
Staff send swap and cover requests to the assistant on one channel. It checks each one against your approval rules, updates the connected rota system and sends anything unusual to the named manager.
Short or late supplier deliveries are only noticed halfway through prep
The assistant tracks supplier orders and expected deliveries in one place. Kitchen staff report missing or damaged items as they unpack, and the issue goes to the responsible manager straight away.
Opening and closing checks live on paper sheets that go missing
Opening and closing checklists run through the assistant on the channel your team already uses. Each completed check is logged with a time, and skipped items are flagged to the named manager.
A broken fryer gets mentioned to three people and fixed by none
Maintenance jobs are logged once through the assistant, with the details your restaurant template asks for. The job is recorded in your connected system and followed up until someone closes it.
A good fit if
Shift swaps and cover requests arrive by text, call and chat, and get lost between services.
Supplier orders and deliveries are checked from memory, and shortages surface only during prep.
Kitchen equipment repairs drag on because nobody follows up with the engineer.
You want a record that opening and closing checklists were finished, shift by shift.
Not the right fit if
You want guests' booking calls answered and reservations taken. See AI Voice Receptionist for Restaurants & Food.
You need supplier invoices read, checked and coded for your accounts. See AI Invoice Intelligence for Restaurants & Food.
You need new staff trained on menus, service steps and food safety. See AI Corporate Training Agent for Restaurants & Food.
You run several venues with separate rotas, suppliers and approvers. Add the Multi-Location Setup add-on.
How it works
- Your team raises requests on one channel, such as Slack or Microsoft Teams: a shift swap, a short delivery, a broken oven or a finished checklist.
- Rota requests are checked against your scheduling rules and your rota tool, then confirmed or sent to the shift manager for approval.
- Supplier orders are logged with expected delivery windows. Shortages and late drops are raised with the supplier contact or manager your rules name.
- Maintenance requests are recorded with the equipment, the site and the engineer, and followed up until someone marks the job done.
- Opening and closing checklists are sent at set times and completed item by item. Missed steps are flagged to the general manager.
- Before launch, 50 scenarios built from your own kitchen and floor requests are tested and shared with you.
What you provide within 72 hours
Your portal lists these the moment you order. Delivery starts the working day after everything is in and your access is checked.
- Admin or API access to your rota or scheduling tool and one other system, such as POS exports, shared by adding our team as a user or creating a key you control, never by email
- Your rota rules, such as notice for swaps, minimum cover and who approves overtime
- Your opening and closing checklists
- Your supplier list with order days, delivery windows and contacts
- Equipment and maintenance contacts for each site
- Ten real requests from your team, such as swap messages or delivery problems
- One decision-maker for sign-off
- An API key for your own AI model account (for example OpenAI or Google Gemini), created for this build with a spending limit.
The 72-hour rule. Send everything on your checklist, including access, within 72 hours of ordering so your build starts on time.
Timeline
Start
Intake verified: rota rules, checklists and supplier list confirmed.
Weeks 1–2
Rota, supplier, maintenance and checklist workflows built.
Week 3
Rota tool and POS exports connected and tested.
Weeks 3–4
50 kitchen and floor scenarios tested with you.
Week 4
Your review and two rounds of changes.
Go-live
Live for your team, recorded handoff, support starts.
| Option | Delivery time | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | 20–30 working days | $5,400 |
| Express | 15–25 working days | $6,200 |
| Rush | 10–20 working days | $7,000 |
What you receive at handover
- The operations assistant live on your chosen staff channel, working inside your approval rules
- Restaurant request types and workflow templates for rotas, suppliers, maintenance and daily checklists
- A working connection to up to two of your systems, such as your rota and stock tools
- A test report built on restaurant scenarios, plus an admin guide for your managers
- A recording of the handoff session to train future managers
- 30 days of post-launch support
Expected benefits and how to measure them
- Managers can spend less time chasing messages and more time on the floor.
- Helps keep a dated record of deliveries, checks and repairs across every shift.
- Makes it easier for new kitchen staff to know where each request should go.
- Missed opening and closing checks
- Count incomplete checklists in the assistant's log each week. Compare with the paper sheets from the month before launch.
- Delivery problems caught on arrival
- Count delivery issues logged at the door each week. Compare with problems found later during prep or service in the month before.
- Time to close maintenance jobs
- Use the logged and closed dates on each job in your connected system. Compare with any repair book or emails from before launch.
Before you start: Note how many shift changes, delivery issues and repair requests a typical week brings. Keep the last month of paper checklists for comparison.
These are things to track, not promised results. Outcomes depend on your data, your team and your market.
Running costs
You pay for the build once. Running it costs roughly $50 to $250 a month in AI model usage and hosting, billed to your own accounts, on top of your rota tool, POS and team chat plans.
Usage while we build and test is billed to you too, so every account stays in the restaurant's name.
Ask about running costsCustom requirements
A second venue with its own rules, a third system such as an inventory or ordering platform, or a second channel needs a Change Quote. Add a note at checkout and receive it in writing.
Request a custom versionKeep it running
Once the 30 days of support end, the assistant can move onto optional monthly maintenance: monitoring, fixes, model and platform updates and a monthly health report. Change hours handle small jobs like a new supplier or an updated closing checklist. Bigger work gets a Change Quote. Cancel any month.
$270/mo (5% of the build price a month, includes 2 change hours)
Optional. Starts after the post-launch support period. Cancel any month.
How maintenance worksHow this compares
| Do it yourself with a SaaS tool | Hire a custom agency | Upmark Labs | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | A scheduling app bills monthly per venue or per staff member | An operations consultant bills by the day | Ours is one fixed price, shown on this page before you buy |
| Team requests | Each app handles one job, so requests stay scattered | A manager still relays every message | Ours takes rota, supplier and repair requests in one channel |
| Checklists | Paper sheets or a separate checklist app | An agency build depends on what was agreed | Ours records each checklist and flags missed steps |
| Delivery | Set up yourself between services | An agency usually takes several weeks, set per project | Ours has a fixed delivery time shown before you buy, with faster options |
Questions about this product
Will this assistant take table bookings from guests?
No. This edition is for your own team, not for guests. It handles rota requests, supplier orders, maintenance jobs and opening and closing checklists. If you want booking calls answered, AI Voice Receptionist for Restaurants & Food or AI Voice Booking Agent for Restaurants & Food handle guests, and either can run alongside this assistant.
Can it confirm shift swaps without a manager?
Only inside the rules you set. If a swap keeps minimum cover, respects your notice period and involves staff trained for that station, it can be confirmed and written to your rota tool. Anything else, such as overtime or a swap that leaves the line short, goes to the shift manager or general manager you name before it is confirmed.
How does it keep track of supplier orders and deliveries?
Orders are logged with the supplier, the expected delivery window and the person who placed them. When staff report a late drop or a short delivery, the assistant records it, contacts the supplier or manager your rules name, and keeps following up until the issue is closed. Open supplier problems also appear in the manager's regular summary.
How do the opening and closing checklists work?
At the times you set, the assistant sends the checklist to the person on shift. They confirm each step in the channel, and the finished checklist is recorded with their name and the time. If a step is skipped or the checklist is not finished, the general manager is alerted. It supports your routines but does not replace your food safety records.
Can kitchen repair requests go straight to our engineer?
Yes, if your rules allow it. Staff report the fault with the equipment and site, and the assistant logs the job and contacts the engineer or maintenance company on your contact list. Repairs above a cost limit you set, or any new contractor, go to a manager first. Jobs are followed up until someone confirms the repair is done.
Which restaurant systems are connected?
Two systems with read and write access are included. Most restaurants choose their rota or scheduling tool and their POS exports, with Slack or Microsoft Teams as the channel staff use. Google Workspace can hold the checklists and supplier lists it reads. A third system, such as an inventory or ordering platform, is quoted through a Change Quote.
How much of my managers' time does setup take?
Gathering the inputs usually means pulling together things you already keep: rota rules, checklists, supplier lists, equipment contacts and ten real messages from your team. Everything is due within 72 hours of the order. Later, set aside about an hour to review the test results, plus the recorded sixty-minute handoff session.
Take rotas, suppliers and repairs off your managers' plates.
Order AI Operations Assistant for Restaurants & Food and on a fixed delivery date your team has one channel for shift requests, supplier orders, repairs and daily checklists.
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