Image: Submitted
After taking a seat on the patio of McGill’s at Market Square, you can scan the QR code on your table and order from nearby Barred Rock Chicken or Toro Taco, then top it off with a drink from McGill’s.
The new system, rolled out this summer, allows contactless ordering during the Covid-19 pandemic and utilizes vacant patio space on the boardwalk that had been left vacant.
“It’s fairly tightly-integrated so that there is no cash involved,” said McGill’s owner, Corey McGill.
Using a phone camera, you can scan the code on your table where you are brought to an ordering website. You write your table number at the end of your order, input your credit card information, and have an order on your table within a few minutes.
McGill said the project was a collaborative effort between himself, Peter Stoddart and Jesse Vergen, who own Saint John Ale House, Toro Taco and Barred Rock Chicken.
Customers can scan the QR code on their table to place and pay for their order. (Image: Submitted)
“The idea of [no-contact] ordering and payment just to sort of make people feel safer,” McGill said.
Online ordering has become more popularized due to services like DoorDash and SkipTheDishes. McGill’s new patio system allows customers to have the safe feeling of online ordering while also having a dine-in experience.
“This is a similar setup so [customers are] already used to that idea,” he said.
McGill said the main reason the restaurants teamed up was that more patio space had become available on the boardwalk when the Social Bar Steakhouse didn’t reopen. McGill’s has taken that space over.
“The space became available because the attendant that was there didn’t reopen after COVID,” McGill said. “We didn’t want to see an empty spot on the boardwalk.”
McGill said COVID-19 was an opportunity to try something new in terms of technology. The platform was developed by the Uptown Saint John E-Commerce Assistance Fund.
“It really allowed us to expand the footprint for the two spaces upstairs for food service,” McGill said, referring to Toro Taco and Barred Rock Chicken, which are located upstairs from McGill’s inside the Market Square food court.
“[It’s] given them another area to sell, which is our patio down here.”
Hannah Rudderham is a reporter with Huddle, an Acadia Broadcasting content partner.
