Whether working in a sandwich shop, bartending, or waiting tables, Nate Hoops has always found himself drawn to the food industry. So it’s almost unsurprising that Hoops and business partner Anthony Ngo wanted to open a restaurant that explored their Vietnamese roots: Phodega. The Chicago-based restaurant describes itself as an “Asian American noodle and snack shop” because, in addition to offering dishes like pho or chicken rice, they also sell a variety of snacks from across Asia.

The menu boasts a variety of pho options alongside banh mi, egg rolls, dumplings, and their special Phodega fries. But the business, similar to its menu, has undergone a slew of changes and pivots that have positioned it for steady growth. The one constant? Their use of Square tools at every moment along the way.

How it started: 1,000 square feet, $500 a day

Hoops and Ngo opened Phodega in 2019 in a space with 1,000 square feet that could maybe fit 26 people. In addition to the small space, Hoops only had enough capital to run it with two employees — one in the kitchen, and one in the front taking orders with a Square Terminal.

Phodega also started out with paper tickets. Because the first menu only featured four dishes and a few appetizers, Hoops opted for the most cost-effective solution. After all, the business was only bringing in $500 a day sometimes. But the paper tickets made it hard to keep track of orders, and it also made it difficult to efficiently look back on orders if needed. 

The business eventually expanded its investment in Square to include the Square Kitchen Display System so they could speed up orders and create cleaner organization in the kitchen. “The KDS makes it just way easier,” said Hoops. 

How it’s going: More foot traffic, menu items, staff

A more detailed look at orders gave them a leg up toward success when they moved to a bigger location. On a street full of restaurants, the stakes for getting orders in and out in a timely manner became crucial, and the Square KDS helped them move with efficiency and speed, enabling them to build rapport and trust with customers. 

With more space and more foot traffic, Phodega is expanding its menu based on its POS data, making the role of a singular system that handles both the kitchen display and the point-of-sale even more important. “We noticed there’s room to capitalize more on our lunch services, and we also noted that summer is a slower season, so we’re working on creating some lunch specials and summer dishes … so the reporting is definitely helpful,” said Hoops. 

The ability to add images to the menu has also been key. “We have a lot of snacks from across Asia, and our team might not know what it’s called, or it might be in a different language. For them to just visually see it and click it is a game changer,” said Hoops. This is especially imperative given that his staff — like everything else — has grown from two employees to 20.

The impact: New revenue streams, greater flexibility

A growing business means growing responsibilities for Hoops and Ngo, and the flexibility to handle business tasks on the go makes life a little easier. “On Mondays, I sit down at the computer and I break everything down. But during the week, I pretty much handle it all on my phone which makes my life way easier than having to [rely on] the physical POS system,” Hoops explained. 

The added flexibility opens up a path for new revenue streams like catering. “Catering is good because we can increase our hourly sales without having to do anything else,” noted Hoops. He and Ngo are currently focused on growing the catering arm, and they won’t have to invest in a slew of new tools to make it sustainable. 

“Having the Square app on my phone, especially if I’m doing catering, makes everything seamless. It walks you through how to send an invoice. It’s nice to be able to do that on the fly. Same for payroll. If I’m out of town on a Monday, I can still run Square Payroll on my phone and just send the checks to my manager to print, which is huge. And I won’t have to bring my computer with me, which is nice.”

With the flexibility to handle things whenever, wherever, Hoops can dedicate more time to more exciting aspects of the business, like branding. Everything down to the stickers in the window are just as intentional as the menu. Consistently seeking new inspiration is crucial to curating the one-of-a-kind vibe of Phodega that customers have grown to love, which Hoops sums up: “We want to be just a little cooler than everybody else.”