Kazu Restaurant Group operates six restaurants across Beirut and Dubai — ranging from a fast-casual ramen bar to a fine-dining Japanese omakase experience. Despite their success, founder Rami Haddad knew the operational side of his business wasn’t keeping up with growth.
“We were opening our third location and I realized we were scaling our problems, not solving them,” Rami told us. “Every new restaurant meant more printed menus to update, more waitstaff to train, and more orders getting lost between the kitchen and the floor.”
That’s when Kazu adopted MatchaGo.
The problem with paper menus
For years, Kazu’s workflow was standard for the industry: printed menus, handwritten orders, manual POS entry. It worked when they had one location. At six, it was a liability.
“Updating a menu item across six restaurants meant reprinting hundreds of menus. If we ran out of a dish, servers had to memorize what was unavailable and tell every table. Seasonal specials were a logistical headache.”
Beyond logistics, Rami noticed a revenue problem. “Guests would order, close their menus, and rarely reopen them. If they wanted another drink or dessert, they had to flag a server, wait, and by then the moment had passed. We were losing impulse orders.”
How MatchaGo changed the game
Kazu rolled out MatchaGo across all six locations over three weeks. Each table got a branded QR code that opens the restaurant’s full digital menu — no app download required.
Here’s what shifted immediately:
Faster table turns without rushing guests
“With MatchaGo, guests browse and order at their own pace. They don’t wait for a server to take their order, and the kitchen gets it instantly. Our average time-to-first-order dropped from 12 minutes to under 4.”
Higher average order value
The digital menu includes high-quality photos, detailed descriptions, and smart upsell prompts — “Add edamame to your order?” or “Pair this with our house sake?”
“Our average check went up 22% in the first month. Not because we raised prices, but because guests could see everything we offered. A photo of a dessert sells better than a line of text on page three of a paper menu.”
Real-time menu management
“Now when we 86 a dish, it’s gone from every table in every restaurant instantly. When we launch a seasonal special, I update it once in MatchaGo and it’s live everywhere. What used to take a week of coordination takes five minutes.”
The analytics changed how Kazu thinks about their menu
One of the features Rami didn’t expect to rely on was MatchaGo’s built-in analytics dashboard.
“We can see exactly which items get viewed the most, which get ordered, and which get skipped. We discovered that one of our most expensive dishes was being viewed constantly but rarely ordered — the description wasn’t compelling enough. We rewrote it, added a better photo, and orders tripled.”
The data also revealed patterns across locations:
- The Dubai locations sold 3x more appetizers when they were positioned at the top of the menu
- Lunch crowds at the fast-casual spots ordered 30% faster with QR than with counter service
- Adding a “Popular” badge to top-selling items increased their order rate by another 15%
“Before MatchaGo, menu decisions were gut feelings. Now they’re data-driven. That’s a fundamental shift in how we operate.”
Staff didn’t resist — they welcomed it
A common concern with QR ordering is that it replaces servers. Rami pushed back on that.
“Our servers are still there. They greet guests, make recommendations, handle special requests. What they don’t do anymore is run back and forth taking routine orders and punching them into a POS. They have more time for hospitality — which is what they were hired for.”
Several of Kazu’s servers reported that tips actually increased after MatchaGo was implemented, because they had more face time with guests for meaningful interactions rather than transactional ones.
Results after six months
| Metric | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Time to first order | 12 min | 3.5 min |
| Average order value | $32 | $39 |
| Menu update time (all locations) | 5–7 days | 5 minutes |
| Order errors per week | 12–15 | 1–2 |
| Table turn rate (dinner) | 1.8x | 2.3x |
Rami’s advice to other restaurant operators
“If you’re still using paper menus, you’re leaving money on the table — literally. MatchaGo paid for itself in the first week through increased order value alone. But beyond revenue, it gave us control. Control over our menu, our data, and our guest experience. That’s invaluable when you’re scaling.”
MatchaGo is Wajito’s digital ordering platform for restaurants and cafés. It offers QR menus, real-time ordering, and actionable analytics — no app downloads required. Learn more about MatchaGo or contact us to see it in action.
