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Par Technology Corp. can add quick-serve restaurant chain Taco Bueno to its client roster, while Tote.ai, developer of a point-of-sale system incorporating artificial intelligence for fuel and convenience stores, has raised $22.6 million for growth.
First, ParTech, says the 140-location Taco Bueno chain will use the PAR POS and PAR Hardware products across its locations. Consolidating its front-of-the-house technology under ParTech will make it easier to train employees, speed up deployments, and reduce any issues that might arise from using multiple vendors, ParTech says.
Installation is expected to start in September, ParTech says, and it will be rolled out and live by the end of 2025. The project include 520 POS terminals, 390 kitchen display systems controllers, and 650 KDS screens, New Hartford, N.Y.-based ParTech says.
Taco Bueno, founded in 1967, is part of Farmers Branch, Texas-based Sun Holdings Inc., which also owns Freebirds and Uncle Julio’s/Hacienda locations. It franchises several others, including Golden Corral, Applebee’s, and McAlister’s.
In related news, Tote.ai, a Redwood City, Calif.-based maker of a POS system for fuel and c-store merchants, says it raised $22.6 million in funding from Cota Capital, Storm Ventures, and Cervin Ventures. The funding will be used for adding staff, market expansion, and product-feature development, Tote.ai says.
Tote.ai says its POS system is distinguished from competitors because it was built with artificial intelligence central to its function. It uses a “one customer, one cart” approach, which means a customer can start shopping at the pump, adding items via a mobile device, and then complete the purchase at a register or self-checkout station without rescanning the items, Tote.ai says.
The native aspect of the AI tool, which Tote.ai calls Genie, also can help retailers integrate promotions and loyalty offers into the consumer interaction that can offer a consumer a unique, personalized offer, it says.
“Fuel and convenience stores have been ignored for a long time,” Shyam Rao, Tote.ai’s chief executive, says in a statement. “But these stores are the bedrock of small communities, bustling city neighborhoods, and America’s highways. We saw an opportunity to help store leaders embrace new online, app-driven consumer behavior.” Rao is the former CEO of Punchh, a loyalty platform ParTech acquired in 2021.
