How Smokey Mo’s adopted a calmer, and more scalable way to handle restaurant tech
Stop staffing an internal team to match unpredictable tech demand
Improve ticket tracking so issues do not stall when managers are off-shift
Roll out brand-wide updates (such as menu changes) across locations
The Challenge: A mixed ownership model with a ever-changing tech stack
Smokey Mo’s BBQ operates 22 locations across Central Texas with both corporate and franchise stores. At this scale and spread of locations, the current tech “support” steals managers’ time from guests and employee alike.
Like every modern restaurant brand, technology isn’t one system anymore. It is an entire ecosystem: point of sale, online ordering, HR, timekeeping, learning management, devices, and integrations layered on integrations. Add constant software updates or menu changes and suddenly every business decision has an IT dependency.
Smokey Mo’s needed an IT partner for one core reason: to stop staffing an internal team to match unpredictable tech demand.
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Smokey Mo’s BBQ is a multi-unit bbq brand with 22 locations across Central Texas, serving guests in the Austin, San Antonio, and Houston markets.
The Solution: An IT partner that scales with real-world restaurant demands
With SOC’s ability to support multiple restaurant groups at scale, they are able to step up to the occasion when demand becomes higher, allowing Smokey Mo’s to get reliable coverage without constantly hiring, rehiring, and retraining.
Science On Call has also become a critical layer between store teams and vendor support.
Instead of a GM spending an hour being told to reboot a system repeatedly, Science On Call acts as the intermediary. They drive the fix while managers stay present with guests and keep teams steady.
“Issues aren’t linear… you might get eight one day and zero three days in a row. It’s hard to understand what IT staffing you’d need for that."
–Craig Haley, CEO, Smokey Mo’s BBQ
“Issues aren’t linear… you might get eight one day and zero three days in a row. It’s hard to understand what IT staffing you’d need for that." –Craig Haley, CEO, Smokey Mo’s BBQ
By the Numbers
Reduced downtime through implementation of Science On Line
Reduced IT Support Budget
by over 60%
Leveraged SOC's data to make decision about new platforms
The Impact: Less chaos and more confident teams in front of guests
For Smokey Mo’s, the impact is not just tickets closed. It is what gets protected when technology breaks at the worst possible time. Managers stay on the floor instead of disappearing into support calls and team members get clearer direction during disruptions.
One of such moments stood out in particular to CEO Craig Haley: An integration issue between the POS and an online ordering vendor was causing fees to be removed costing Smokey Mo’s significant revenue across all units.
Science On Call did not just troubleshoot. They advocated, drove accountability with the vendor, and helped resolve the issue.
“They helped not only solve the problem, but advocate for them taking responsibility… as it was costing us significant amounts of money.”
Looking Ahead...
Smokey Mo’s is evaluating a point-of-sale transition, one of the most complex operational changes a restaurant group can undertake. Rather than bringing in an outside consultant who must learn the brand from zero, Smokey Moe’s sees value in relying on a partner who already understands the systems, the people, and the pace of restaurant operations.
“With most support, it feels transactional… like you’re bothering them. With Science On Call, there’s a sense of genuine care… when you get off the phone, you feel better about the world in a way. And that’s powerful as an operator.”