Waffle House And Its Nearly 2,000 Locations Sign up With Olo for Digital Ordering

Digital ordering took off when the pandemic set in, and while Covid has subsided, the appetite for online ordering and payment has only surged among restaurants. Now the trend has claimed a major chain that until now had proven resistant to the technology. Olo Inc., a New York City-based dining-technology provider, early Tuesday announced it has signed Waffle House, a sprawling restaurant brand with 1,973 locations, mainly in the South.

The Norcross, Ga-based chain has already adopted digital ordering and payment technology from Olo across some 1,600 of its restaurants, a move that represents the 68-year-old chain’s first “significant” investment in digital technology, according to the joint announcement released by software-as-a-service specialist Olo and Waffle House.

The restaurant operator has started with an online-ordering platform and plans early next year to offer an app from Olo that will enable mobile ordering, the companies say. The technology includes what Olo calls “borderless accounts,” meaning customers can order without the need to enter a password or card information with each transaction. “Digital innovation across our brand is a big step for Waffle House,” says Patrick Marshburn, vice president of innovation and strategy at Norcross, Ga.-based Waffle House, in a statement.

Waffle House’s move to online ordering and payments represents a major win for Olo, which since it started out in 2005 has signed more than 600 restaurant brands running 87,000 active locations in what has become a hotly contested business for payments processors. Recognizing the need for capital as it confronts a wide array of payments companies, the company went public early in 2021in a move that raised more than $650 million. In one of its most recent technology thrusts, Olo agreed to offer voice-ordering technology based on artificial intelligence. The technology comes from Santa Clara, Calif.-Soundhound AI Inc.

For its third quarter, Olo reported $57.8 million in revenue, up 22% year-over-year. Its gross profit totaled $34.6 million, up 9%, while the company reported an operating loss of $16.3 million, up from $15.9 million a year ago.