Came across an interesting blog entry by Bob Sutor titled “Thinking about restaurant software and online services.” Reading it, especially the part that restaurant software should not only “look at all expenses and revenue and help manage those, but  also [needs] to mine this data to make smart decisions for the future.” resulted in a déjà vu moment for me.

Over 30 years ago I was part of a Canadian company which had designed not only the first restaurant computer based point-of-sales terminal, but also the software which did just that. The company was originally called “Cremanco” as in “Canadian REstaurant MANagement COmpany”, but was forced to change its name because there was a US company by that name that was manufacturing S-100 based home computers. The final name became Remanco, by removing the first “C.”

What made the system so unique was that its POS terminals were connect via a local network to the main CPU which would not only control the everyday ordering task, such as keeping track of table  orders, routing order information to the kitchen and bar, but also managing inventory and help the restaurant  in identifying what menu items were not selling or are unprofitable.

About five  years ago I came across a restaurant in Switzerland that was still using the original system. It just showed me how advanced the hardware and software design was back then,  25 years ago. I am not sure what ever happen to the company after I left, other than that it was sold to a new owner who fired all the original people. Something not uncommon when it comes to new owners in the IT world.

Thanks Bob for reminding me of my early days of computing!