For restaurants & caterers
Restaurants that cater: requests stop getting lost in voicemail and sticky notes.
I build small tools for restaurants that cater: a ballpark price customers can work out themselves, a request form that collects the date, headcount and menu, and a reminder before the event with a review ask after. It works next to your POS, and you approve every message.
(641) 530-2599 · chrispoulos@praxisaisolutions.io
Copied from the catering demo. Made-up restaurant, real workflow. Try it yourself →
The real problem
Catering calls come in during the dinner rush.
Someone calls about a graduation party during the rush. The message ends up on a sticky note or in voicemail, and nobody gets back to them until the next day.
When you do call back, it takes three more calls to get the date, the headcount, the menu and the address.
Most of what restaurants pay is percentages, like card fees and delivery commissions. The flat-fee waste is in add-on bundles and premium plans bought for one or two automations.
Try it on your phone
What the catering demo shows
It's a made-up restaurant called Example Grill & Catering. Open it on your phone and tap through it the way your customer would. Nothing in it is live, so poke around.
Ballpark your catering order
Customers get a ballpark price on the spot, with the math shown, and send the request when it fits their budget.
Request catering
The request arrives with the date, headcount, menu and address, any hour, while you keep cooking.
Reminder before the party, review ask after
Dana gets a reminder the day before and adds cookie bars by text. The day after, she gets one polite review ask. Everyone gets the same ask, with no filtering, which is what Google's rules require.
The monthly bills
What restaurants and caterers often pay each month
These are tools restaurants and caterers often pay a monthly bill for, at published or reported prices. Each price links to where it came from.
| Tool | What it does | Price | My take | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Owner.com | Online ordering and website | $249/mostarting price | Worth a hard lookCheck what you'd pay in order fees on top. | restauranttools.ai |
| Popmenu | Menu, website and marketing | $179/mostarting price | Worth a hard lookWorth a look if you mostly use it for the website. | aiwebsitebuilder.com |
| BentoBox | Restaurant website | $119/moestimated starting price | Worth a hard lookA site you own keeps working after you stop paying. | aiwebsitebuilder.com |
| PodiumCore plan | Texting and review requests | $399/mo | Worth a hard lookIf you mostly use it for review asks and texting, that's the part I can build for you to own. | getomnichannel.com |
| Slang.aiAI phone answering | Answering calls and reservations | $399/moper location | Worth a hard lookCompare it with a text back and a catering form. | aitoolsbakery.com |
Podium Core alone comes to $4,788 a year at that price.
What usually stays: your POS and card processing. What I build takes over the catering requests, event reminders and review asks.
Prices are what each linked page showed when I checked on October 23, 2026. Vendors change prices, and several sources are reviews or comparison sites rather than the vendor's own page, so check your own bill. I don't list my prices here. You get one written price after the free walkthrough.
How it works
How working with me goes
Every restaurant is different, so I don't guess from the outside. The first look is free, and nothing gets built until you've said yes to one written price.
Free walkthrough
A 20-minute call, or a free 2-minute video built for your restaurant. You tell me what eats your time. I tell you straight if I can fix it.
One price, in writing
A short write-up and one price before you pay anything. No hourly meter. If I can't build it, no charge.
Built around what you use
Your POS and card processing stay. The new tool works next to them, so your staff doesn't learn a new system.
You approve every message
You read and okay the wording before the tool sends anything, and you can change it any time.
You own it
It's yours outright. It keeps working whether or not we ever talk again.
Up and running
Most tools are working in 2 to 4 weeks from your yes. I'm a phone call away if something needs a change.
Remote or in person, same price. I'm based in Mason City, Iowa. If your restaurant is in North Iowa, I'll come sit at your desk. Anywhere else, we do it over a screen share: you see what I see, and you're talking to me the whole time, not a team you never meet.
Straight answers
Questions restaurants and caterers ask
Does the ballpark use my prices?
Yes. The real version uses your menu and per-person prices, shows the math, and says “ballpark” until you've confirmed the order.
Can customers change the order by text?
They can ask, like Dana adding cookie bars in the demo. It comes to your phone, and you answer. Nothing changes until you say so.
Do I have to change my POS?
No. Your POS and card processing stay where they are.
Do you only work with restaurants and caterers in Iowa?
No. If you're in North Iowa, I'll come to you. Everywhere else, we work over a screen share, which is how most software gets built anyway. Your zip code doesn't change the price.
What does it cost?
It depends on what your restaurant needs, so I don't post prices. The walkthrough is free and ends with one price in writing. A one-time tool is a one-time price, and if I can't build it, there's no charge. Texting and hosting have a small monthly bill in your own name, and I'll show you that number up front too.
Let's talk
Tell me what's eating your time.
One free call, or a free 2-minute video of what this would look like in your restaurant. If there's nothing worth building, I'll tell you that too.
You'll be talking to Chris Poulos — 20 years selling to real people face to face, now I make AI work for them. No agency, no handoffs: the person you call is the person who builds it.
Or email chrispoulos@praxisaisolutions.io