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Built around real work · Le Yard, New York
From the first call
to the final close.
A restaurant is a thousand small handoffs. I design the websites, tools and workflows that help them feel like one business.
Built alongside Le Yard, a restaurant taking shape on Ninth Avenue. These are examples of custom systems I can adapt to your business. Private app screens use demonstration records—not guest data or operating results.
01 / AI reception & reservations
A thoughtful first response.
Give the person calling a clear answer—and your team a useful next step.
- AI phone reception grounded in approved restaurant information.
- Human transfer, voicemail and a shared phone workspace.
- Guest reservations, confirmations, management links and a staff daybook.


How it works, end to end
The voice path connects Twilio to a Cloudflare audio bridge and Gemini. Interruptions, transfer and fallback are part of the flow. The reservation system handles availability, pacing and table conflicts separately. Le Yard’s phone assistant does not create or cancel bookings; public reservations are currently opening soon.

02 / Pre-opening workspace
An opening with a clear plan.
Bring the decisions, deadlines and money into the same working picture.
- Tasks with owners, dependencies and calendar views.
- Budgets, commitments, payments and supporting evidence.
- A shared view of what is ready, what is blocked and what comes next.


How it works, end to end
The Opening Room is a separate planning workspace. Scope and milestones become owned tasks; purchasing decisions become budget commitments; payments and supporting records remain traceable. Handover into day-to-day operations is planned with the team, rather than assumed to be an automatic data sync.

03 / Restaurant operating system
The whole working day.
A quieter place to see the room, support the team and finish the day properly.
- Host floor plans, arrivals, waitlist and reservation pacing.
- Scheduling, time records, prep, inventory and service exceptions.
- Invoices, cash reconciliation, tip calculations and owner review.


How it works, end to end
Next.js interfaces sit over a Supabase data model with role-based access and an audit trail. The work connects around the service day: preparation, arrivals, live exceptions and closeout. POS connections and other integrations are enabled and tested for the specific venue. Calculations support review; the system does not silently pay staff, place orders or approve its own closeout.

The handoffs matter
One business. A considered flow.
Plan the opening
Turn room decisions, suppliers and budgets into owned tasks.
Meet the guest
Website and menu set expectations. Phone reception answers or hands off; reservations follow the venue’s booking rules.
Prepare the service
Host and managers coordinate the floor, staff coverage, prep and stock.
Work the room
Arrivals, service changes and shortages stay visible to the people who need them.
Close with care
Reconcile cash, review tips and record the exceptions that inform tomorrow.
A closer look.
Real interfaces. Considered details.
Host
The focused front desk: daybook, floor and service flow.

Opening plan
Owners, dependencies and next actions before the doors open.

Team schedule
Coverage, acknowledgments and open shifts in one view.

Service control
Availability, shortages and the manager handoff.

Inventory
Recipe usage, waste and counts with visible variances.

Closeout & tips
Sales, cash and allocations prepared for human approval.

The public website
An illustrated identity, neighborhood discovery and opening stories.

Digital menu
A fast, readable menu with its own visual character.

Design studio
An interactive room study for discussing layouts and details.
From your workflow to a working system
Built with you, all the way through.
Understand
Walk through a real day. Identify the handoffs, existing tools and decisions that need an owner.
Design & build
Shape the interfaces, permissions and data model. Connect only the integrations the workflow needs.
Rehearse & launch
Test sample services and failure paths, train the team, then verify each production connection before launch.
Keep improving
Use actual feedback, support issues and reviewed results to make the next iteration useful.
Scope can begin with one workflow or a coordinated stack. Hosting, provider accounts, access, support and rollout are agreed for your business. Le Yard remains in pre-opening; the screens demonstrate the software, not a claim of restaurant performance.
Tell me how your business works