With COVID-19 restrictions and limitations in place across the country, it has been a busy few months for businesses across the board. With the hospitality industry moving into the unknown and facing significant financial and operating pressures, businesses need to plan, pivot and act decisively to survive this crisis.
For Melbourne-based Ciao Mamma, the past few months have been challenging, but owners, Nic and Tina, hope that by utilising tech-savvy solutions such as the Abacus POS, it will help to place their business in a better position to weather the storm. We’ve recently caught up with Nic and Tina to find out how their family business has adapted to reopening their restaurant in a limited capacity, and how Abacus has supported them in navigating the restrictions of COVID-19.
Tell us about the backstory of Ciao Mamma and how you got started.
Ciao Mamma was a way for us to honour our Italian heritage and to appreciate Australia at the same time. Our love of Italian food propelled us to curate a menu based on our experiences from our childhood, such as summer sauce making and winter salami making. After pursuing a teaching profession for 30 years, it has been especially amazing for Tina to fulfill this lifelong dream of opening a restaurant.
When we opened in 2017, we had a vision of providing a taste of Italy in a modern Australian setting. Who wouldn’t want the best of both worlds? At Ciao Mamma, we make it a point to incorporate the highest quality Italian ingredients, as well as the finest Australian ingredients into our dishes.
What can customers expect from Ciao Mamma?
When customers step into Ciao Mamma, we want them to feel welcomed, like they’re a part of the family. Our customers can expect the taste of real, authentic Italian food that may inspire a trip to Italy or even bring back some wonderful memories if they have been there before.
As a family business, we feel that time spent eating at the table together with your friends and family is a precious thing. Due to this belief, we have ensured that Ciao Mamma is accredited by Coeliac Australia. Even if you have friends or family with gluten intolerances, they are always welcomed at Ciao Mamma.
Customers have told us that our food reminds them of fond memories; whether it’s visiting their nonna’s (Italian mum) home or visiting an Italian friend’s home where the food just kept on coming. Once, we had a customer in tears while eating our meatballs, who said “these meatballs remind me of my grandmother.”
What makes Ciao Mamma stand out from the others?
At Ciao Mamma, we create fresh pasta and sauces daily. A popular dish is our Carbonara, crafted without cream and traditionally made with fresh or gluten-free pasta. Other crowd-favourites include our “Tinamisu”, the classic tiramisu dessert (specially named after Tina) and our gluten-free donuts!
We are proud to have attentive staff that practise active listening and try our best to attend to individual needs as far as we can. The team at Ciao Mamma strives to generate rapport and to provide an enjoyable, memorable dining experience for all.
How has Abacus helped your business during the current COVID-19 crisis?
We first stumbled upon Abacus at a trade fair and liked the different features it offered. As a user of Abacus since 2017, our staff loves the POS system and we definitely prefer how easy it is to use and the modern feel it has, as compared to other brands on the market.
During this COVID-19 crisis, Abacus has helped our business greatly – especially with its efficient online food ordering system. Due to COVID-19 limitations, restaurants and cafés are only allowed to do takeaway and delivery. Luckily for us at Ciao Mamma, we were able to pivot towards takeaway quickly with Abacus. All of our takeaway orders integrate seamlessly with Abacus, streamlining kitchen operations and enabling us to provide a customer-focused experience.
The Abacus POS system has the flexibility to make changes rapidly. The user-friendly interface makes it such a great POS system for us. Whenever we face any issues or problems, we find that the Abacus client support is very responsive and is always there to help us overcome any problems immediately.
If you’re interested in creating or optimising your online menu, and opening up your business to online sales, and takeaway and delivery functionality, speak to our friendly and experienced team here at Abacus. We are currently providing our Online Ordering platform with NO upfront cost and $0 ongoing monthly fees on top of your regular Abacus POS subscription. The only additional cost to you is a small transaction fee.
Submit your interest here or email us at sales@abacus.co and our product specialists will reach out to you to discuss how we can help your business in these tough times. Alternatively, give us a call on (03) 9017 2792.