Restaurants & Cafés

Restaurant automation for the enquiries you can't take mid-service.

Catering and private-event enquiries arrive mid-service, when nobody can answer. Those are the ones worth the most — so Avelle captures them while the kitchen is at full tilt.

Setup from $2,500, then $650/mo· single site or groupSee full pricing →
Catering enquiry captureReservations & waitlistBased in British Columbia

Restaurant automation captures the catering and private-event enquiries that arrive mid-service, handles reservations and waitlists, and answers reviews across every platform without pulling anyone off the floor.

By Daria Morrison, Founder & AI Systems Architect at Avelle Solutions · Last updated August 2026

Key takeaways

  • Reservations and waitlist handling: takes bookings by phone, web and text at any hour.
  • Catering and private-event capture: captures headcount, date, budget and dietary requirements.
  • Review responses across platforms: drafts replies to reviews on every platform you appear on.
  • Gift card and enquiry routing: handles gift card questions and orders without a call.
  • Cost: Setup from $2,500, then $650/mo — single site or group.
  • Timeline: most builds go live in two to four weeks.
The problem

Where restaurants lose the big orders.

The highest-value enquiries arrive at exactly the moment nobody can pick up the phone.

The catering call during service

A $3,000 office catering enquiry comes in at 12:30 on a Thursday. Every hand is busy. It goes to voicemail and then to a competitor.

Private events lost to silence

Someone planning a fifty-person function contacts three venues. The one that replies same-day gets the booking.

Reservation phone tag

Calls during peak service that are just a table for four — and the ones that ring out include the ones that were not.

Reviews nobody answers

Feedback accumulates across four platforms. Answering it is a job for a quiet afternoon that never comes.

What we build

Four systems for a business that cannot stop mid-service.

Handling the phone and the inbox while the pass is full.

Reservations and waitlist handling

  • Takes bookings by phone, web and text at any hour
  • Answers hours, location, parking and dietary questions instantly
  • Manages the waitlist and notifies when a table opens
  • Frees the pass from routine reservation calls during service

Catering and private-event capture

  • Captures headcount, date, budget and dietary requirements
  • Responds immediately to the highest-value enquiries you get
  • Books a callback with the person who actually quotes events
  • Follows up on event enquiries that went quiet

Review responses across platforms

  • Drafts replies to reviews on every platform you appear on
  • Holds them for approval rather than posting unreviewed
  • Routes serious complaints to a manager immediately
  • Keeps response times consistent without a dedicated person

Gift card and enquiry routing

  • Handles gift card questions and orders without a call
  • Routes supplier, press and hiring enquiries to the right inbox
  • Answers the repeat questions that fill your voicemail
  • Escalates anything genuinely unusual to a human
The comparison that matters

What are you comparing this against?

Usually someone answering between covers, or an events coordinator you cannot yet justify.

OptionUp frontOngoingEvenings & weekendsFollows up every timeAbsorbs a volume spike
Hire an events coordinator$45,000+/yrNoNo — dropped when busyNo — hire again
Answer between coversNoNoNo
Build the systemsfrom $2,500from $650/moYesYesYes

Salary figures are general Metro Vancouver ranges for comparison, not quotes. Run your own numbers in the savings estimator.

How it works

How long does it take to go live?

We build around how you already run — you do not change your systems to suit ours.

  1. 01

    Map your enquiry types

    We separate reservations from catering, private events, suppliers and press — and decide what each one should do.

  2. 02

    Connect bookings and calendar

    We integrate your reservation platform and the calendar of whoever handles events.

  3. 03

    Build the event capture flow

    We design the questions that make an event enquiry quotable without a phone call.

  4. 04

    Launch and tune

    We go live, review the first weeks of enquiries, and tune against what actually converts into bookings.

Where restaurants & cafés revenue leaks, and the system Avelle builds to close each gapWhere it leaksWhat we buildThe catering call duringserviceReservations and waitlisthandlingPrivate events lost tosilenceCatering and private-eventcaptureReservation phone tagReview responses acrossplatformsReviews nobody answersGift card and enquiryrouting
How Avelle closes each gap for restaurants & cafés.
What we build toward

What outcomes do we design for?

The targets every build in this sector is scoped against.

0

catering enquiries lost to mid-service voicemail

24/7

reservation and event capture

2—4 wks

from first consultation to a live system

Design targets, not guaranteed results. Outcomes vary by business size, volume and starting point.

Integrations

Will it work with the tools we already use?

Avelle is platform-agnostic. We connect to your stack rather than asking you to migrate.

OpenTableResyTockSevenRoomsGoogle Business ProfileYelpGoogle CalendarSMS
Explore related services

The pieces this is built from.

Most builds in this sector combine these three. Start with whichever is leaking most.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

What does restaurant automation cost?

Builds start at $2,500 setup plus $650/mo on Launch, covering reservations, enquiry capture and review responses. Groups running multiple sites or heavy event volume move to Growth at $4,500 setup plus $1,500/mo.

Will it work with OpenTable or Resy?

Yes. Avelle connects to OpenTable, Resy, Tock and SevenRooms rather than replacing them, so reservations land in the system your floor team already runs.

Can it quote a catering job?

No, and it should not. It captures headcount, date, budget and dietary requirements, then books a callback with whoever prices events at your restaurant. The value is that the enquiry is captured and qualified instead of lost.

Will guests know they are talking to AI?

Most restaurants run it under the venue's name with an immediate handoff for anything unusual. For a reservation or a hours question, guests get an instant answer rather than a ringing phone during service.

How long until it is live?

Most restaurant builds go live in two to four weeks. We map your enquiry types, connect your reservation platform, build the event capture flow, then launch and tune.

The 60-day zero-risk promise
Measurable, documented improvement within 60 days — or we keep optimising at no additional cost until you see it.
How it works →

Ready to stop losing catering to voicemail?

Book a free 30-minute consultation. We'll look at when your event enquiries arrive and what the ones that rang out were worth.

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