The pandemic has forced restaurants to use technology like never before. Whether it's to take reservations, offer QR code checkouts, process third-party delivery orders or provide free Wi-Fi to customers, a restaurant's tech stack is constantly evolving. And more tech means more outages, glitches and disruptions that can cost restaurants thousands.
To troubleshoot tech challenges and keep restaurants up and running, Chicago startup Science on Call has created a platform that provides 24/7, on-demand tech support. The startup announced on Monday that it raised $1.6 million in pre-seed funding from Bread and Butter Ventures, Groove Capital, RW Capital Investments, Gaingels, Lofty Ventures and LongJump.
Founded in 2020 by Andy Freivogel, Luisa Castellanos and Ken Tsang, Science on Call offers a subscription-based tech support platform for restaurants. It lets restaurants quickly connect with IT help through a text message, phone call or a scan of a QR code. Its IT help can assist with issues regarding point-of-sale systems, internet, third-party ordering services and other tech needs.
Since landing its first customer in June of 2020, Science on Call now works with 45 different restaurant brands across 125 locations, CEO and co-founder Andy Freivogel said. The startup was one of Chicago Inno's 22 startups to watch in 2022.
Freivogel, a former IT director at Chicago's Intelligentsia Coffee, said as restaurants began incorporating new technologies to keep revenue coming in during the Covid-19 pandemic, the startup's services became more important than ever.
"Our platform became a necessity almost overnight," he said. "When our internet isn’t working at home, we can go sit in a Panera if we want to. When a restaurant’s internet service stops working, they’re losing money immediately."
With a greater percentage of restaurant revenue shifting online and to third-party apps like DoorDash and Uber Eats, any system downtime means lost revenue for an industry that already operates on tight margins.
"If [a restaurant's] credit card reader isn’t working or their internet service is down, that's like shoveling money out the drive-thru window," Freivogel said.
Science on Call works with national chains like Popeyes, as well as local Chicago restaurants like Tavern on Rush and Al's #1 Italian Beef. The startup can help troubleshoot issues entirely remotely, walking restaurant managers and other employees through fixes step by step, Freivogel said. Science on Call said it can provide on-demand support faster than traditional IT help services, and at a fraction of the cost.
The issues facing the restaurant industry, be it the lingering Covid-pandemic, labor shortages or inflation, have created a strain on many of America's eateries. Science on Call wants to make tech support one less headache.
"January of 2022 was just as challenging [for restaurants] as December 2020 or March 2020," Freivogel said. "The problems have changed, but they are still under a lot of duress. We love restaurants and hospitality, and we want to be a part of the solution and keep them growing."
