The artsy West Village Italian-American eatery De Santos has recently become the first restaurant in New York to run their business on iPad 2 tablets.

The days of scribbled notepads and yelling to the kitchen are over. The new system allows servers to take orders, get them to the kitchen via wireless signal, and check out customers. Yes, the iPad is also capable of swiping credit cards.

All of this seems to maximize time for more customers and faster service.

The POS system appears as an app on each server’s iPad, allowing access to the table and seating chart, and a complete visual menu.

Working with Pro-Touch Solutions president, Brad Igel, the entire program costed De Santos $18,000, compared to a traditional POS system like Aloha, which ranges around $30,000 to install.

Co-owners Sebastian Gonella, Luis Miguel Amutio, and Alex Gonzalez all feel positive about the technological direction they’ve taken.

“Because I’m an artist, I always believed that the visual aspects of any business are pretty important,” Gonella says. “Apple is the best company in the world that [uses] visuals as a marketing tool, so I believed it would be a great idea to make it happen in the restaurant business,” Gonella told Inc.

The most convenient aspect of all for the restauranteurs is the ability to track their business wherever they may be. They can view the restaurant’s performance from any iPhone, staying in the know regarding transactions and kitchen progress.

Once frequented by the likes of Janis Joplin, Bob Dylan, Edward Albee and Jean Michel Basquiat, the spot is a rustic haven for the creative type, bearing a lot of history.

The use of the iPad has transported the West Village veteran to high-tech dining, stabilizing costs while fusing a cutting-edge element of style.

[Sources: Inc., MaterialGirls]

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