Jacob Paronyan has been working in restaurants since he was 14. The Armenian-born restaurateur moved to the United States when he was nine and spent years around a variety of cuisines, none of them from his home country. It got him thinking: “What is Armenian food? How does it work?” According to Paronyan, there are layers to it. There’s Armenian food shaped by Syria, Greece, or Turkey. He wanted to create a way to celebrate and uplift the Armenian diaspora.

Cue Roaming Goat, a San Francisco-based restaurant and wine bar that features Mediterranean flavors and styles from Armenia, Georgia, and more. On the menu, you’ll find everything from creamy goat cheese stuffed dates to an Angus filet kebab. Since its inception in 2021, Roaming Goat has used Square to operate the business. Paronyan turned to Square because he needed a system that handled more than just payments. He needed a system that could plug gaps and grow with his operation.

“We’ve kept investing in equipment that helps plug gaps as they show up,” he said. “You can’t just get [a set] amount of printers or handhelds and make it work [long term] for a space like ours because we’ve been growing organically.”

Leveraging Square to “go-as-you-grow”

When Roaming Goat first opened, the business relied on one Square Terminal and one Square Register as a way of having the “bare minimum” just to start. “We [eventually] became busy enough that we needed to access each of those tools from different parts of the restaurant,” Paronyan said. This became even more true as the business built out its front patio area, leaving the patio “25 feet away from the bar.” As a result, the business added another Square Terminal and the Square Stand.

Currently, Roaming Goat is building out its backyard. “We need a remote bar back there. So we need another piece of equipment.”

This time the business adopted Square Handheld, the newest portable hardware solution from Square. Building out a plan for his remote bar means that he needed a device that could be pocketable so servers could carry drinks in hand and take payments right away if needed. “There were obviously other handheld units that we’ve tried throughout and this one is working the best out of all of them…[Square Handheld] seems much more natural.”

Using Square Handheld to stretch out the restaurant space

In addition to its pocketable size and optimal functionality, Square Handheld is creating true efficiency for Roaming Goat. Because the restaurant space is long and narrow, Paronyan notes that Square Handheld cuts down on how many steps staff members need to take while keeping orders flowing. “[Square Handheld] eliminates the amount of steps one has to take to get to the register. They could be outside and they could put in three or four orders all at once and be present with their [customer] as opposed to having to step away from their section to find the terminal,” he noted. He also added that easier accessibility helps cut down on congestion between staff because it eliminates everyone gathering around to put in multiple orders at once.

“It’s a nice way to expand the footprint without having bulky equipment like big screens and stuff taking up counter space,” said Paronyan. The sleek size, alongside its superior functionality, is what makes Square Handheld a necessity for Roaming Goat, and Paronyan says he recommends the tool for other businesses.

“Finally, there’s a handheld that works and feels like what everybody else is used to, which is [pocketable] size and build. And it’s finally a system that is promising to get there as opposed to pretending to get there,” said Paronyan.

Expanding the footprint of a business that’s constantly finding new ways to build out its space is always top of mind for Paronyan and the team. Square tools have helped the business evolve from day one to year 4, supporting it as it grew from an enclosed restaurant to a thriving space with a front patio and backyard service. As Roaming Goat fields its next adventure with its space, the business plans to look to more Square tools to grow. “It’s been great to see [Square] come a really long way from maybe where somebody would use it for like ringing up a pair of shoes to us being able to do all these complex orders, modifiers, and kitchen tickets.”