Birmingham Alabama, Aug. 28, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A Birmingham-based tech company is looking to make inroads in the restaurant industry, and the national efforts to raise the minimum wage in several cities are helping spark some of the company's efforts.
Juke Slot, which provides ordering kiosks for restaurants, said the company is posting strong growth in 2017, due to a couple of factors.
“Because of labor shortages and increase of minimum wage, we’ve seen a big growth rate in 2017 - more than a 50 percent growth rate this year and increase into 2018,” said Paige Tyler, a sales representative of Juke Slot.
The company currently has more than 200 customers operating more than 10,000 kiosks. That growth has translated to increased headcount for the company, particularly in the areas of development and back-of-house staff. The company would like to add another 50,000 self-order kiosks by February 2018 and another 100,000 by the end of 2018.
Juke Slot plans to focus its growth efforts on markets with high minimum wages, such as California, Florida and Washington, but is also planning to expand in its home state of Alabama, as well.
Company leaders said the implementation of higher minimum wages in states like New York has made it cost-effective for companies to consider moving to kiosks provided by companies like Juke Slot.
Local restaurant Roly Poly Sandwiches in Hoover has seen a 3 to 5 percent increase in sales due to the kiosk implementation.
"The faster for the customer, the faster for us," said franchise owner Matt Macke.
Tyler said several major restaurant brands are increasing their focus on self-order kiosks, which should bode well for the company's growth efforts.
“The fact that McDonalds and Wendy’s are adding (kiosks), and they are trendsetters and pushing a lot of restaurants around the country to move to that technology,” said Tyler.