Lettuce Entertain You is a popular Chicago-based restaurant group founded in 1971 by Rich Melman and Jerry A. Orzoff. What started as a single burger joint, R.J. Grunts, now includes 60 distinct brands and concepts at more than 130 locations nationwide.
True to the vision of its founders, Lettuce Entertain You strives to offer unique restaurant concepts while offering a wide variety of cuisines and price points – from fast casual to fine dining.
The restaurant group’s growth is deeply rooted in its culture of caring and commitment to guest hospitality. But according to the restaurant group’s Chief Marketing Officer, Jennifer Bell, success didn’t come overnight.
“Melman started to pay attention to all the details and really take care of the guests in ways no one else had before,” Bell explains. “And all of a sudden, little by little, they became extraordinarily busy. The restaurant would have a 2 to 3 hour wait every evening.”
The attention to detail and the commitment to caring for guests have never wavered – and serve as a North Star for the management team.
We look for ways to take care of our customers, engage them, and take away any friction that they may be experiencing, whether it's dining in-store, ordering online, or picking up an order.
Growth led to a need to streamline and unify the customer experience
Over the years, Lettuce Entertain You’s commitment to guest hospitality led to innovation in the overall customer experience. As they expanded into more and more restaurant concepts, they offered a wider variety of experiences, adding a loyalty program centered on the diverse array of restaurants and menu options offered.
Bell began seeking technology solutions to help manage the restaurant group’s growing footprint and scale its customer loyalty program – which was complicated from an operational perspective. She explains that her goal was “to use technology to provide better hospitality for our customers.”
As more and more customers began to embrace online ordering, Lettuce Entertain You wanted to integrate and streamline the in-store and online customer experience across all of their brands, letting customers order directly from their website, pay for online orders with gift cards, and earn coveted reward points.
An Online Ordering partnership proved to be fruitful
Lettuce Entertain You chose Online Ordering, DoorDash’s commission-free* online ordering solution, because it checked all of their boxes for what they needed in an online technology partner.
A seamless integration between Online Ordering, Paytronix, and Fiserv enabled the restaurant group to accept gift cards as payment through their website, award loyalty points through online orders, and offer branding customized to match each restaurant’s unique look and feel.
Bell appreciated how easily the technology integrated into the ordering process. “It made it seem seamless, like [customers] were ordering directly through us.”
130+ restaurants across the US
25% higher AOV for gift card orders**
16.4% higher AOV for loyalty orders**
Gift card transactions saw a 25% higher average order value than non-gift card transactions during the first four months. With the Online Ordering loyalty integration, Lettuce Entertain You has also seen an increase in incremental online orders from loyal customers — without impacting dine-in orders.
Online Ordering data provided a deeper understanding of their customers
Online Ordering also helped Lettuce Entertain You gain greater visibility into their customers’ behaviors and preferences, significantly improving the overall customer experience.
“Another [reason] we chose Online Ordering is the access to our customer data,” Bell explained.
I can't underestimate the value of the data. Understanding that data – and then marketing and personalizing communication to our customers based on that information – is the biggest opportunity for us going forward.
Ready to get started? Sign up for DoorDash, sign up for Online Ordering, or learn more about our technology integrations. Contact your DoorDash representative or email 3p-support@doordash.com to explore how Online Ordering gift cards or loyalty program can help your business.
*2.9% + $0.30 credit card processing fee applies.
**AOV calculated four months after adopting gift card and loyalty program and compared to non-gift card and non-loyalty orders
