How Bite’s Agility and Partnership Approach Drove a Kiosk Switch for Tiki Taco
Overview
Tiki Taco is a growing fast-casual Mexican restaurant concept operating 5 locations, specializing in fresh, à la carte tacos and authentic Mexican cuisine. Tiki Taco has built its guest experience around order optionality—offering multiple ways to order, including self-service kiosks, online ordering, third-party delivery, walk-up windows, and traditional counter service with full-service bars.
Business Name: Tiki Taco
Interviewee: Eric Knott, CEO of Tiki Taco
No. of Locations: 5
No. of Locations Using Bite: Deployed in all locations
The Challenge
Finding a Kiosk Partner That Moves at Restaurant Speed
When Eric Knott, CEO of Tiki Taco, needed kiosk technology that could keep pace with his operational demands, he turned to a solution he’d tested before while at a previous company. After experiencing frustration with a competitor’s slow response times and rigid customer service at his previous concept, Eric gave Bite a second chance at Tiki Taco. The result? A partnership built on speed, collaboration, and measurable performance that now powers all 5 Tiki Taco locations.
Eric’s kiosk journey began four years ago at PDQ, where he served as COO, overseeing technology initiatives. Looking to implement self-service ordering, he piloted both Bite and a competitor simultaneously. At the time, the competitor had a head start, having already been live in two locations for several months before Bite’s pilot began.
“I felt like they [both kiosk brands] basically did the same thing, and I was getting very similar results,” Eric recalls.
With limited time to evaluate and the competitor’s established presence, he initially chose to roll out the competitor’s solution across PDQ.
But as time went on, cracks began to show. Eric encountered recurring issues with uptime and connectivity. More concerning was the competitor’s response when he requested product enhancements: delays, roadmap discussions, and a general sense that his needs weren’t a priority.
When Eric transitioned to Tiki Taco, he decided to run the pilot again—this time with a fresh perspective.
The Solution
The Turning Point: “One Week” vs. “Three Months”
At Tiki Taco, the stakes were different. Unlike PDQ’s pre-packaged combo meals, Tiki Taco operates entirely à la carte. When guests ordered together at a kiosk, the kitchen tickets provided no way to identify which tacos belonged to whom.
“People would come in—let’s say you and a friend come in and we order from the kiosk,” Eric explains. “I would come to the table to service the guest and have to auction off six, seven, eight, ten tacos. Operationally, it was a nightmare.”
This wasn’t just an inconvenience—it was a fundamental operational problem that needed solving immediately.
Eric reached out to both kiosk providers with the same request: enable group ordering functionality so the system could differentiate between individual orders within a single transaction.
The competitor’s response: “Give us 8 to 12 weeks, and we’ll put it into the development plan.”
Bite’s response: “We’ll get this out to you in a week.”
Bite delivered on that promise. Within seven days, Tiki Taco had a working solution to its group ordering challenge.
“For a small brand with very few units, Bite was willing to help me out with an enhancement that wasn’t currently in its system. That was leaps and bounds above the other kiosk provider.”
