Kona Grill started in 1998 with a simple yet ambitious vision: to create a dining experience that blends freshly prepared food, personalized service, and a contemporary ambiance—all at an affordable price. What began as a single restaurant in Scottsdale, AZ grew into a nationwide brand with over forty locations across twenty-three states. As the only national sushi chain that caters to nearly any occasion, sushi now makes up 22% of their sales. However, as Kona Grill expanded, managing inventory with spreadsheets became increasingly inefficient, leading to inconsistencies, waste, and rising costs—until they found a game-changing solution with Restaurant365.
As Kona Grill grew, they recognized that managing inventory with spreadsheets simply wouldn’t work any longer. Without an integrated system, they struggled to maintain accurate inventory tracking, control costs, and identify variances.
These challenges impacted operational efficiency and, more importantly, affected Kona Grill’s bottom line. To gain better control over inventory, reduce costs, and streamline processes, they turned to Restaurant365 and transformed the way they managed inventory across every restaurant location.Â
Kona Grill chose Restaurant365 Inventory Management for its powerful, all-in-one restaurant management solution that seamlessly integrated with their Aloha POS system. By replacing spreadsheets with R365’s advanced inventory and recipe management tools, they gained real-time visibility into theoretical vs. actual inventory usage. This allowed managers to track portioning, reduce waste, and quickly identify variances, ensuring greater accuracy and cost control. The ability to generate standardized variance reports across all locations no only eliminated inconsistencies, it helped streamline operations. With Restaurant365, Kona Grill improved efficiency and saw measurable financial gains, setting a strong foundation for future growth.
By implementing Restaurant365, Kona Grill gained full visibility into their inventory, allowing managers across all locations to accurately track portioning, waste, and shrinkage. By directly comparing theoretical and actual inventory counts, they were able to pinpoint discrepancies and hold staff accountable. The introduction of Hot Counts and Inventory Count Variance Reports gave managers better control over food costs, leading to more efficient operations across all locations.
With Restaurant365, we have complete visibility of theoretical quantities of inventory of inventory on-hand and inventory used. Through the use of Hot Counts and Inventory Count Variance Reports we now have excellent control of our inventory.
Michelle Caraig, Accountant
Kona Grill
Perhaps the most impressive result was the rapid return on investment. The financial benefits of Restaurant365 allowed Kona Grill to recoup their investment in just three months, proving that an integrated inventory management system was not just a necessity but a game-changer for their continued growth and success.
Financially, the impact was significant. One Kona Grill location achieved a 4.2% reduction in cost of goods sold (COGS), while the company as a whole saw an average 1.5% reduction in COGS per store, resulting in a profit increase of $15,833 per location. Additionally, with better purchasing oversight, managers identified vendor overcharges and recovered substantial credits, further improving cost savings. Â
Restaurant365 is now part of our recipe for success.
Mark Robinow, CFO
Kona Grill
From gaining the visibility and control needed to reduce costs to streamlining operations and improving profitability, Kona Grill completely transformed its inventory management with Restaurant365. The seamless integration with their POS system allowed for accurate tracking, better cost control, and a standardized approach across all locations. With a rapid return on investment and measurable financial gains, Restaurant365 has become an essential ingredient in Kona Grill’s recipe for success—supporting their continued growth and commitment to delivering an exceptional dining experience.
1.5% average reduction
in COGS per store
$15,833 average profit gain
per store
3 month ROI
from efficiency gains
Discover how you can start achieving savings like these for your business
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Restaurant365 bridges the gap between accounting and operations by centralizing all data, helping restaurant operators to become more efficient, accurately forecast, and tackle any challenge or opportunity with speed and accuracy.
