Shorty Small’s Update Includes New Technology

Shorty Small's at 11100 N. Rodney Parham Road in Little Rock

It seems as if Shorty Small’s, at 11100 N. Rodney Parham Road in Little Rock, has been around forever, but it’s actually only 40, having opened as a restaurant in 1978 and converting to a Shorty Small’s in 1980. That’s according to Paul Kreth, Shorty Small’s’ co-owner and CEO.

Kreth spent some time telling us about the restaurant’s recent $250,000 renovation, which he oversaw: new siding, windows, roof, tables, carpet, the works. The makeover also includes a new menu with more options on the lighter and healthier side — salads and wraps and the like — though favorites like chicken-fried steak and ribs remain.

He and his partners are “refreshing” all three Shorty Small’s locations; the other two are in Oklahoma City and Branson, Missouri.

Kreth is particularly excited about his investments in technology, including iPads allowing servers to send orders to the kitchen while they’re taking them from the customer. The system was implemented in the Branson location earlier, Kreth said, allowing the restaurant to reduce by 18 minutes the time that elapsed between a customer leaving his car to enter the restaurant and returning to his vehicle. This resulted in an addition of 100 “virtual seats,” Kreth said, an innovation that goes to the restaurant’s bottom line.

In addition, an electronic waiting system allows patrons to pull up to the door, put their names on the waitlist using an iPad outside and then be texted when their tables are ready. “It’s all about trying to make it better for the customer,” he said.

This digital technology, through the use of a special app, also lets the restaurant track exactly how long a customer is at a table before a server shows up to take the order. “We digest all of that data, and it’s really gotten us a lot further down the road,” Kreth said. “We’re much faster than we used to be.”

Efficiency is especially valuable at lunch. “When people are limited to 40 minutes or 45 minutes, they can literally get in here, sit down, eat and actually be able to get back to work on time.”

Kreth enjoys the technology aspect of the business. “I’m always looking at technology, trying to make it a better experience, not only for my customers but for my employees as well.” For example, he said, when a customer orders a steak, the server’s iPad prompts him to ask what temperature the diner would like it cooked, “so they don’t make a mistake and go all the way back to the kitchen and have to come all the way back out,” Kreth said. “It lowers some of the frustration for them as well, makes it more efficient for them, and they can earn more money in tips that way too.”

Ultimately, Kreth said, “The one constant we have is we try to serve the best quality food that we can serve and try to stay in tune with what our customers’ desires are.”