Island Grill & Pub · Rock Hill, SC · Fast casual Jamaican
How a Small Jamaican Kitchen Reopened to 1,078 Orders in a Month, and Nobody Had to Answer the Phone
1. A small kitchen, a big reopening
Island Grill & Pub is a family-run Jamaican kitchen in Rock Hill, South Carolina. It has used Bite Buddy AI to answer its phone and take orders since July 2025. In spring 2026 the restaurant closed for renovation, and on August 15, 2026 it opened its doors again.
The community had been waiting. Rock Hill's Caribbean community came back, and so did a lot of new neighbors: in the first month, 888 customers ordered, and 573 of them were ordering for the first time. The other 315 had ordered before the renovation.
2. Reopening day: 97 calls
On reopening day the phone rang 97 times. The AI answered every call and took 34 orders, nearly every order placed that day, while the kitchen cooked. On the first Tuesday after reopening the restaurant filled 67 orders.
A kitchen this size can't keep someone on the phone through a rush like that. In the busiest hour of the month the AI took 17 calls, and at the peak it was talking to 4 callers at the same time. One person with one phone answers one of them.
3. The first month in numbers
From August 15 to September 15 the restaurant filled 1,078 orders, 55% more than its best month before the renovation. The AI took 535 of them: 362 over the phone and 173 by text message. AI orders were up 81% on the same weeks a year earlier. The other 543 came through the restaurant's online ordering page.
The phone rang in 225 of the 243 hours the restaurant was open, and 97% of calls came in during service. Each of those is an hour someone would otherwise have had to stand at the phone instead of cooking or serving. The AI covered all of them.
Orders were bigger too. The average ticket in the reopening month was 22% higher than the restaurant's average before Bite Buddy (January to July 2025), and it has stayed around 20% higher across its time on Bite Buddy.
Calls, orders and customers: Bite Buddy's records for the account, August 15 to September 15, 2026, restaurant local time. “First-time” means no earlier order by phone, text or online in Bite Buddy's records. Average ticket: the restaurant's own all-in figure (tax included) for January to July 2025, compared with the all-in total of orders in Bite Buddy. Results are one restaurant's; yours will vary.
4. In the owner's words
“Destiny handles 100% of our calls. We don't need anyone answering phones anymore. Our staff focuses on cooking and serving while she takes every order perfectly.”
5. What it costs
Bite Buddy's standard price is $1.50 per completed order, with no monthly fee: you pay when the AI fills an order, so a quiet week costs little and a record month costs only for the orders it brought in.
See pricing →6. How they did it, and how you can
How can a small restaurant handle a rush of phone orders without extra staff?
Let an AI answer the phone, so no call waits for someone to put down a pan. Island Grill's AI answered 97 calls on reopening day and up to 4 at the same moment, taking each order from the restaurant's menu while the kitchen cooked. The phone rang in 225 of the 243 hours the restaurant was open, and nobody on staff answered it.
How do you get more takeout orders?
Take orders every way customers want to place them, and never let a call go unanswered. Island Grill takes orders by phone (362 in the first month), by text (173) and on its own online ordering page (543). The month after reopening it filled 55% more orders than its best month before the renovation, and 573 customers ordered for the first time.
How do you increase average order value?
At Island Grill the average ticket rose on every channel. Orders taken by the AI over the phone and by text averaged 13% more than the restaurant's average before Bite Buddy, and orders from the online page, where customers see the whole menu and its add-ons, averaged 31% more. Together, the average ticket was 22% higher.
How do you set up AI phone ordering?
- Load your menu into Bite Buddy. The AI takes complete orders from it, items and options included.
- Point your phone line at Bite Buddy. Island Grill did this in July 2025; when it reopened, the same AI was already answering.
- Turn on text ordering and your online ordering page. Island Grill's page takes card payments; customers can text an order instead of calling.
- Pay per order. $1.50 when an order is filled, no monthly fee.
Questions restaurant owners ask
How do you get more takeout orders?
Answer every call and take orders every way customers want to place them. Island Grill & Pub takes orders by phone and by text through Bite Buddy AI and on its own online ordering page. In the month after it reopened it filled 1,078 orders, 55% more than its best month before the renovation, and 573 customers ordered for the first time.
How do you increase average order value at a restaurant?
At Island Grill & Pub the average ticket rose on every channel after it moved to Bite Buddy: orders taken by the AI over the phone and by text averaged 13% more than before, and online orders 31% more, for a 22% higher average ticket overall.
How do you set up AI phone ordering for a restaurant?
Load your menu into Bite Buddy, forward your phone line to it, and turn on text ordering and an online ordering page if you want them. Bite Buddy charges $1.50 per completed order with no monthly fee.
Can a small restaurant handle a rush of phone orders without extra staff?
Island Grill & Pub did. In the month after it reopened from renovation (August 15 to September 15, 2026), Bite Buddy AI answered 1,093 calls, 97 of them on reopening day, with up to four callers on the line at once and 17 calls in the busiest hour. Nobody on staff had to stop cooking to answer the phone.
How many orders does an AI phone assistant actually take?
At Island Grill & Pub, the AI took about half of all 1,078 orders that month: 362 over the phone and 173 by text message. The rest came through the restaurant's online ordering page. AI orders were up 81% on the same weeks a year earlier.
Does AI phone ordering change the average ticket?
Island Grill's average ticket in the reopening month was 22% higher than its average before Bite Buddy (January to July 2025), and it has stayed around 20% higher across the restaurant's time on Bite Buddy.
Can customers order by text instead of calling?
Yes. Bite Buddy takes orders by text message as well as by phone. At Island Grill & Pub, 173 orders in the reopening month came in by text.
Ready for your busiest day?
We'll show you how Bite Buddy AI would answer your calls and take your orders.
Book a demo