The market for back-office restaurant software is suddenly hot.
Restaurant365, one of the big players in the restaurant management technology space, is acquiring competitor Compeat. The announcement on Thursday came just hours after Toast revealed it was buying back-office software provider xtraChef.
Terms of the Restaurant365 deal were not disclosed. The combined company will be led by Restaurant365 CEO Tony Smith and will serve more than 28,000 restaurants.
Both cater specifically to restaurants and offer tools for managing things like payroll, accounting, operations and purchasing. The goal is is to help operators reduce costs and spend less time on administrative work.
By adding Compeat, Restaurant365 will expand those capabilities even further.
"We have a lofty vision to transform how restaurants operate, and this combination significantly expands our market share and resources," Smith said in a statement.
Restaurant365 will continue to support Compeat products and customers after the deal is closed. 365 is based in Irvine, Calif., and has an office in Austin, Texas, where Compeat is headquartered.
Coming out of the pandemic, restaurants are dealing with the double-edged sword of surging sales and a historic labor deficit. Products that promise to save managers time and streamline operations have understandably become more attractive. McDonald's, for instance, is testing automated voice-ordering in the drive-thru to save on labor. While software that eases back-office tasks might be less sexy, it could offer similar benefits.
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