Key Results at a Glance
- “LTO sales have jumped through the roof”
- Unified all catering and event operations into one platform
- Streamlined production numbers, timing, and customer info
- Sold over 150 “Whole Fried Turkey” units in a single Limited Time Offer (LTO)
Summary:
Hattie B’s, a family-owned restaurant group famed for its signature Nashville Hot Chicken, had grown to 12 stores with plans for more locations on the horizon. Alongside its booming restaurant operations, the brand runs a robust catering and events program managed by Joe McGrath, General Manager for Catering and Special Events. This operation handles everything from casual office lunches to massive 2,000-person conferences, in addition to events in dedicated Private Dining Rooms (PDRs). Their dedicated catering operation has a wide range of capabilities out of all their stores.
As this complex business scaled, their previous generic catering management tool couldn’t keep up. The team faced a massive challenge trying to manage their growing operations with disconnected tools.
“Looping in the calendar, messaging, and the CRM component together was a massive challenge before Tripleseat,” McGrath explains. This lack of a unified system had real-world consequences. “It just caused missed details, thus leading to poor UX [User Experience].” The team knew they needed a credit-worthy investment to support the future growth of their business.
The team’s previous platform created significant operational friction. Tracking client conversations, managing leads, and coordinating across multiple locations was frustratingly inefficient. Without essential tools like a shared calendar or integrated messaging, critical details slipped through the cracks. This slowed response times and created bottlenecks that directly hindered the company’s ability to scale.
Prior to implementing Tripleseat, the restaurant group struggled significantly due to the absence of a proper CRM component. Without a centralized system to manage guest relationships, track communication, or store event and client history, the team faced inefficiencies across the teams.
Instead of one unified calendar and dashboard that connects leads, bookings, payments, and repeat business, the team was often piecing together information multiple systems and spreadsheets.
Summary:
Switching to Tripleseat provided the single source of truth the Hattie B’s team desperately needed. The platform’s centralized features immediately organized their workflow. “My calendar is literally my home screen on my laptop, and I always have it open in a tab on my phone,” says McGrath.
The team specifically utilizes TripleseatDirect to manage bookings for their PDRs and, most notably, to run their high-demand Limited Time Offer (LTO) menus.
For holiday-specific business, TripleseatDirect has become indispensable. “It’s our everything,” McGrath states. “We can build the menu to the exact offering. We can edit and change items based on availability. We can seamlessly streamline production numbers.”
With Tripleseat, every conversation, lead, and event detail lives in one centralized platform — accessible to the entire team in real time. Shared calendars, integrated messaging, and automated updates eliminate the need for back-and-forth emails or separate spreadsheets. Teams across multiple locations can easily collaborate, track progress, and stay aligned from the first inquiry to the final invoice. This streamlined communication not only speeds up response times but also ensures that no detail is ever missed, empowering Hattie B’s to operate more efficiently and scale with confidence.
With Tripleseat, the restaurant group gained full visibility into every guest and event interaction. The built-in CRM tools centralize customer profiles, communication history, and booking details, giving teams instant access to the information they need to deliver personalized service and build lasting relationships. Sales, events, and operations teams can now work from the same source of truth — tracking leads, nurturing repeat business, and identifying opportunities for growth with ease.
With Tripleseat, the team now operates from a single, unified dashboard that brings every aspect of the business together — from leads and bookings to payments and returning guests. Real-time data and reporting provide a clear view of performance across all locations, eliminating the need for manual tracking or disconnected spreadsheets. This central hub empowers teams to make faster, data-driven decisions and maintain full visibility into the customer journey from inquiry to repeat business.
Since implementing Tripleseat Direct, the operational improvements have been undeniable. “NIGHT AND DAY difference,” McGrath says. “Being able to streamline the process has dramatically impacted my business for nailing down production numbers, lining up contact information and timing, and then being able to keep all transactional info all in one space is fantastic.”
This efficiency has directly translated to revenue. “Our LTO sales have jumped through the roof once we switched to TSD,” McGrath reports. “We can advertise and collect orders so much more efficiently.”
A prime example is their “Whole Fried Turkey” promotion for Thanksgiving. “Our Whole Fried Turkey is always a hit,” he says. “We will sell north of 150 whole birds this year.” This success is built on giving customers what they want. “People love the idea of not having to work hard on a big holiday… for holidays, people just want good food.”
With plans to further explore all the resources Tripleseat has to offer, Hattie B’s is poised for continued growth. McGrath’s advice to any operator still managing events the “old way”?
“Make the change. Make your life easier.”
Stop letting fragmented tools slow you down. Discover the event management platform built to unify operations and scale your venue. Request a demo today to see how Tripleseat can transform your event operations. Interested in TripleseatDirect? Let’s chat about how you can add it to your Tripleseat platform.
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