Felipe’s Mexican Taqueria launched in 2006 in Boston and New Orleans and quickly garnered a loyal fanbase. Soon, the fledgling company added locations across the Crescent City and Florida. At the same time, it began growing increasingly complex and challenging to manage effectively and profitably.
By 2012, it had a disjointed tech stack cobbled together over time based on the growing company’s needs, standardized recipes that weren’t formalized or housed in a central system, and performance and cost metrics weren’t accessible. The fact that Felipe’s was a fast-casual concept where guests could choose from options like slow-cooked carnitas and wood-grilled steak to more than a half dozen house-made salsas made things even more difficult.
“You’re talking six to eight different proteins plus four different types of beans and rice, then pile on all the different toppings plus sauces, and you’re talking hundreds of millions of combinations,” said Felipe’s Director of Development and Finance Pike Howard. “Then you start to think about your business and ask, “How do I put this whole thing in a system so I can actually understand my cost?
