GYG builds kitchen software to cut wait times, improve accuracy

The system runs across more than 250 kitchens after a three-week rollout.

Guzman y Gomez Ltd. (GYG) is testing software that sets a pickup time for each order, using data from its in-house kitchen system to manage preparation times and workloads.

“If we're going to make a promise to you that your food is going to be ready in five minutes, I want to make sure that food is ready for you in five minutes,” Bryce Maybury, chief technology officer at GYG, told QSR Media.

The trial will begin in October and is one of several features being developed for GYG’s Order Management System. The system completed a pilot in August 2026 and now runs across more than 250 kitchens.

The software calculates preparation times for individual orders, including changes such as adding guacamole, switching beans, or removing sour cream.

GYG spent nearly two years assessing software vendors before deciding to build the system itself. Maybury said available products could not handle the operating requirements of its fresh-food kitchens.

One challenge was balancing work across GYG’s two kitchen production lines. Orders are printed on stickers and sent down one of two parallel lines, where crew members prepare items in sequence before assembling each order.

Different orders require different amounts of work, whilst restaurants can have different numbers of crew members with varying skill levels. That can leave one line with more work than the other.

The Order Management System calculates the workload and distributes orders between the two lines, reducing the amount of manual decision-making required from crew members.

“There was so much more opportunity that was being left on the table because we didn't own that platform ourselves,” Maybury said via Zoom. “That was the real driver.”

GYG developed the system from concept to national rollout in six months. A proof of concept took eight weeks, followed by a three-month pilot at six restaurants and a three-week national rollout.

The company can now release a software feature about every 10 days, Maybury said, compared with the longer development cycles required by outside vendors.

The system also uses data to decide when restaurants should open a second kitchen line during busy periods. GYG previously used 15-minute operating windows and manager judgement to make that decision.

Wait times have fallen, and order accuracy has increased since the system was introduced, Maybury said, crediting the software and GYG’s 16,000 crew members.

GYG is also testing smart scales at seven restaurants. The scales weigh orders before they are handed to customers and flag differences between the expected and actual weight.

For example, a missing 390-millilitre Coke could be detected from the difference in weight, with the system suggesting the missing item.

GYG is also developing an agentic artificial intelligence platform that would let kitchen staff control workflows using natural-language commands, Maybury said.