Online Ordering Revenue Earned by Not Answering the Phones

Client Spotlight:

Monks Burgers More

Monk’s Earns over $126k in Online Ordering Revenue with Popmenu Answering

Monk’s has held its reputation as a thriving modern Gastropub for over a decade by listening to guests, growing with the community, and finding new ways to stand out in the crowded restaurant scene of downtown La Grange, IL. “You’re not selling beer, you’re not selling burgers, you’re selling the experience,” Co-founder and General Manager, Demetri Kopley tells his team. This commitment to innovative and great service is what piqued the restaurant’s interest in Popmenu back in 2019.

At the time, Monk’s was undergoing a rebrand—they recognized their customers were changing from young couples getting late-night drinks to families grabbing meals together—and the team knew they had to grow with their guests. With Popmenu’s intuitive website management dashboard and responsive support team, Monk’s was easily able to implement a complete rebrand of the website and digital presence after closing for only two weeks. The rebrand was a success, signified by a growing number of new fans and a house phone ringing off the hook—a great indication of business growth but tough on operations. Enter Popmenu Answering.

“We don’t have a host stand, so servers are the ones answering the phones. Popmenu Answering relieved the need to have someone sitting at the front, which really isn’t in my budget, especially during the slower season.”

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With an ever-present busy signal and phone calls going unanswered due to busy staff, Monk’s struggled to bring their service standards to the phones—Demetri himself would often be sent to voicemail when trying to call the restaurant. After implementing Popmenu’s automated answering technology, the burden of a ringing phone is diminished. Now, the simple questions guests call to ask—‘are you open’, ‘can I place an order’, and ‘what’s your wait time’—are handled by automated custom responses, and texted links to place an order or join the waitlist online.

“I can see the staff doesn’t really like answering the phone, especially if they’re busy with a customer. For them to ignore the call or break away and answer the phone is not good customer service on either side. Now, when that phone does ring, they know it’s a person that actually needs something because they’ve exhausted all of their options and need to speak with someone.”

In just 6 months, Popmenu Answering has fielded over 2,400 calls—serving just as many guests and saving Monk’s over 23 hours on the phone. With the power of answering automation, Demetri and his team are confident that they can continue to serve and listen to their community whether they’re dialing in or dropping by!

8,967

Total calls

Total hours saved from phone calls

23%

of calls sending online ordering links

$126k

in online ordering revenue from Answering

“Just to have everything in one place, from answering to waitlist, email marketing, the website, it saves me a lot of time.”

Demetri Kopley

Cofounder & General Manager

Popmenu + Genius: one menu, one ordering flow, fewer manual updates

What initially drew Nick, along with marketing director Brennan Best, to Popmenu was its seamless integration with Great Basin’s POS system Genius. Prior to Popmenu, any menu or website changes were manual and time-consuming: menus changing two to four times a year and updates across locations via various technologies, all online orders were routed through third parties, cutting into the restaurants’ profits. After choosing Popmenu, the team has saved significant time: instantaneous website changes across all channels, online orders go directly from the Popmenu platform into the Genius POS, and guests’ orders are fulfilled with less room for error.

In the months following the launch, Great Basin has seen an average month-over-month 11% increase in online ordering gross payment value (GPV), which is the total amount processed during transactions. During that period, they’ve also gained more than 1,000 new guest contacts (a 9% increase)—and those new followers have driven almost 75% of their orders. With Popmenu, Great Basin is capturing guest information so they can stay top of mind and continue to build a loyal customer base.

“The ability [as a result of the Popmenu integration] for our customers to order directly from our website, and for that to be less expensive for them without the additional markups for third-party delivery, has been a gamechanger for us and has really improved the experience for our guests.”

-Brennan Best
Marketing Director of Great Basin Brewing Company

Stronger communications or better SEOhappier guests

For Great Basin, technology isn’t just about efficiency–it’s about staying connected with their guests and their community. So when they had to navigate between several scattered and disparate communications tools, they weren’t able to get their message across in the meaningful, consistent way that aligns with their values.

The Popmenu platform has enabled Great Basin to unify their messaging, while still allowing each location to have its own unique voice. Within the platform, they’ve been able to customize the look and feel of each location’s landing page to convey the fact that each restaurant has a different personality.

“It's always been important for us to listen to our community, while also conveying our brand’s narrative to our community as well. The Popmenu platform has been super helpful because not only does it allow us to receive feedback from our guests, but it also enables us to respond directly to those guests.”

-Brennan Best
Marketing Director of Great Basin Brewing Company

The brewery’s SEO has also improved since integrating with Popmenu, as their website’s event inquiry page for guests looking to host onsite parties has seen a surge in traffic. Soon after Great Basin made the switch to Popmenu, location managers were trying to understand why they were seeing unprecedented levels of interest in events. As a result, they are currently booked with private parties through mid-2026.

“Popmenu’s built-in marketing tools have replaced several standalone systems, saving costs and creating consistent messaging. We were able to cut a few hundred dollars a month by consolidating tools, and now our messaging – emails, events, promotions – all run through one seamless system.”

-Nick Meyer
Director of Operations and Owner of Great Basin Brewing Company

Smooth and supported implementation

As any restaurant team can attest to, rolling out new technology across multiple locations can be daunting and challenging. But Nick, Brennan, and the entire Great Basin staff credit both Popmenu’s onboarding process and its client service reps for a smooth transition. Even launching the integration during one of Great Basin’s busiest seasons didn’t slow things down.

“We had everything running in about a week across four locations – it was one of the easiest integrations we’ve done. We even went live right before summer events, and it didn’t faze the team at all. Once everything was set, we were off and running.”

-Nick Meyer
Director of Operations and Owner of Great Basin Brewing Company

For more tips, follow Popmenu.

Want a closer look at how automation can bring in more orders while saving you time and money? Book a 20-minute, no-pressure demo with Popmenu.

We’ve got your back. Every. Day.

Online Ordering Revenue Earned by Not Answering the Phones

Monk’s Earns over $126k in Online Ordering Revenue with Popmenu Answering

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Nevada brewery saves time, grows direct online ordering, and unifies multi-location operations with Popmenu and Genius.

Popmenu + Genius: one menu, one ordering flow, fewer manual updates

Stronger communications or better SEOhappier guests

Smooth and supported implementation

For more tips, follow Popmenu.

We’ve got your back. Every. Day.

For more tips, follow Popmenu.

We’ve got your back. Every. Day.