With the close of 2020, seeing “pandemic” in the headline is now commonplace. Updates about which states are affected, who is shutting down, and record number of new cases consumes our newsfeed. Amid all the troubling stories, there are some positive stories to discover. One such story is that of Serrano’s Mexican Restaurant, a family-owned business with over 100 years serving the Phoenix area, not only surviving the hardships associated with COVID-19 restrictions, but also experiencing new success with technological advancements in the restaurant and payment processing industry.

In 1919, the Serrano family started a clothing business in Chandler, a developing suburb just south of Phoenix, AZ. Success came as the result of hard work and around 60 years later the family added a small restaurant to the back of the department store, using the authentic recipes of the family. As larger department stores began to saturate the developing area, they made the decision to close the department store and focus on their restaurant. That business decision paid off for the family.

At the start of 2020, five restaurant locations exist in Chandler and the surrounding area. With a rich community base and a sense of extended family from their customers, continued success seemed inevitable. Then came COVID-19. The Serrano family, like many other business owners, faced an immediate challenge to survive restrictions and shutdowns. Contactless ordering and payments became a necessity to continue operating. While third-party solutions provided restaurants the ability to continue serving their customers, the commission rates of these third-party platforms were cutting into already small profit margins. For the Serrano family, implementing a low-cost and more efficient ordering solution became a priority.

In their quest to find a better solution, Serrano's management reached out to Payment Logistics and were introduced to PayLink, our mobile ordering and payments solution. Requiring no app for download to use, built-in customer arrival notifications, and a low-cost, commission-free online ordering solution, they quickly saw the value and went to work to implement PayLink at their restaurants. The first part of the rollout was our free online ordering with curbside pickup platform. In the first few weeks after the rollout, the President of Serrano’s said, “it dwarfed what we were doing in the delivery service at the time.” The sales reports show that in the first few months of operation, PayLink generated thousands of orders that accounted for hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue.

PayLink provided a cost-effective way to connect with and serve customers in their community. With a successful online ordering campaign in place and dine-in restrictions lifted, Serrano’s started looking for additional ways to update how they interact with customers. Paylink Mobile Checkout was installed at the five restaurant locations, allowing customers a contactless way to pay from their phone through a QR code. With PayLink Online Ordering and Mobile Checkout, Serrano’s is now able to offer digital receipts to a wide range of customers and get real-time ratings on their service and meal. As a bonus, every digital receipt displays a promotion or advertisement of their choosing, allowing them to share discounts for repeat business.