Customer story: Stella Taco

About the business

• Type: Fast Casual
• Location: Portland, OR
• Number of Employees: 52
• POS: Square
• Payroll: Heartland

Background

After owning several successful restaurants in El Paso, Texas, husband and wife Ian and Becky decided to move to Portland, Oregon. They opened Stella Taco in the summer of 2014, and added a second location in the spring of 2016. Stella Taco specializes in “Austin-style” tacos -- street tacos beloved in Texas. Popular options include the vegetarian fried avocado taco, the shredded brisket and egg breakfast taco, and the margaritas.

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Before Homebase

SStella Taco used a standalone app from the App Store to handle scheduling, and the time clock app that came bundled with their point of sale system. Although they seemingly had a solution for these two administrative tasks, Ian found that he was spending “very little time creating new recipes, and all [his] time on employee management.” It was clear that Stella Taco needed a better solution.

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How they found Homebase

Becky and Ian found Homebase through the Square Marketplace, which they trust to vett the best apps out there for running their business. “Square partner apps are always really good, and we take their advice on these things.”

How Homebase helped

After using Homebase, life began to change at Stella Taco, as Homebase was a clear improvement over the standalone scheduling app they previously used. The change was more than just aesthetic: switching to Homebase meant many more features, too. [sp_review name=Becky & Ian position="Owners at Stella Taco"]Our experience with Homebase has been great. Having our employees trade shifts with each other has changed our lives.[/sp_review] Chief among them: the ability for their employees to trade shifts amongst themselves, with manager approval. Before Homebase, trading shifts was a game of “He Said, She Said,” where Becky and Ian were forced to play mediator between employees. To keep a system of record and to keep Becky and Ian out of being the shift middlemen, Stella Taco instructed their employees to trade shifts using the free Homebase mobile app, saving them time and employee management headaches. “Having our employees trade shifts with each other has changed our lives,” and has allowed Ian and Becky to get back to their main job: feeding hungry patrons with the best street tacos and queso in Portland.