This week on AirPOS Lovin’ retail we are highlighting the work of one of our beloved unique customers, Babushka Kitchen Cafe, located close to home in the scenic seaside town of Portrush.
Babushka is an independently owned speciality, coffee shop ideally located on the North Coast of Ireland boasting beautiful views of the West stand beach and the accompanying town of Portrush.
Although small in size; only accommodating around 25 customers inside, the shop is perched perfectly at the end of the pier and offers comfortable outside seating for those wishing is to relax and enjoy the views with a warming cup of coffee.
It’s clear from the first visit to Babushka that the owners themselves, as well as the staff, are passionate about what they do which is reflected in their endless 5-star reviews.
When speaking with owner George he mentioned that sourcing quality ingredients are crucial to them, wanting to make sustainable and quality coffee accessible to those in the area.
The initial idea was to create a space that was at the intersection of experience, relationships and good coffee which is made clear on their website with the tagline “more than food or drink; it’s about good people, good times and making memories”.
Babushka has more than achieved its vision of building a strong community around their business in their one of a kind venue.
This mantra also rings true in their food menu, only offering dishes comprised of ingredients from local businesses and those who share their quality standards.
Upon visiting you can expect your beloved traditional treats but with a twist and all created using the finest local produce.
Babushka has been using AirPOS in their cafe for 6 years using it to process their sales and manage their stock.
Their business is widely recommended by loyal locals and professional publications alike, meaning that weekends can very busy especially with their compact premises.
The business has relied on the AirPOS system to stay on top of their sales and ensure they give their customers the best experience when in-store.
The ease of use has also been incredibly helpful to the booming business that has had to increase staff with growing demand and therefore needed a system that wasn’t overly complex to grasp.
When speaking with George he mentioned that as well as providing a comprehensive system he has always been impressed by the level of support offered by AirPOS, loving their personal feel.
He noted that any time he contacts AirPOS the member of staff knows who he is and about his business which is always comforting and ensures he finds a solution that best meets his needs.
How has Babushka survived COVID
A big question we’ve been asking our retailers is how they’ve been getting on during lockdown?
Obviously, this is an unprecedented situation and the levels of stress are immeasurable, particularly for those in the service-based industries and those who value the community they have built around their business.
George mentioned that his staff and himself used lockdown as a reboot period.
They operate a very popular business therefore the pandemic put things into perspective, the team wanted to use the time to reconnect with family and friends etc.
However, he mentioned that although he was taking a well-needed break from the business that the AirPOS reports and management functionalities have been incredibly useful with planning in recent weeks for their reopening highlighting what changes would have to be made.
We spoke with George as we were beginning to see the reopening of stores across the UK and Ireland.
Although many business owners are keen to reopen George and the team at Babushka are still faced with many challenges.
The most pertinent is that the premises of the business is small and limit their ability to enforce social distancing measures to protect their customers.
As well as this George mentioned accountability. Babushka value its community and its customers, they didn’t know whether it was a good idea during the pandemic to encourage customers to leave home and visit their store, especially when there could be crowds with the good weather.
Taking these concerns into consideration George has decided to make changes to Babushka in order to serve their customers whilst maintaining staff, customer and community safety. These changes are made possible through AirPOS.
When speaking with George the AirPOS team were able to get him set up with a second terminal and hardware so they can create both a walk-up take away service as well as pre-order click and collect.
From the first call, the AirPOS team were able to create a solution that made sense for his needs and got everything together for him as quickly as possible.
These changes implemented have allowed George to reopen his business and as he stated, have only been made possible by the level of support offered by AirPOS.
He noted that something that he loves is that whenever he contacts AirPOS, he gets a personal touch and that the staff genuinely care, they will go above and beyond to find a solution to help him, something that is non-existent in the larger companies.
Also, he emphasised that “having a company on the ground” was invaluable to them, “AirPOS is a company who understood their situation and the current climate within Northern Ireland”.
George highlighted that AirPOS was a company that he could trust which has enabled him to grow and be more productive.
“AirPOS is a company whose ethos aligns with our own, we are passionate about supporting small businesses and particularly one that is doing the same”.
With an increase in the number of solutions on the market, we asked George what has made him stay with AirPOS for 6 years?
“It’s a service that’s constantly adapting and the company are great at keeping us updated also they “were able to help us build a system that could manage demand and was scalable”.
Babushka is a one of a kind business, not only offering great coffee but a quality experience sure to make an impact.
Make sure to check out Babushka on their website and social pages as well as make the trip to pop by their Portrush location.
