Management Information Systems
Kimball’s restaurant: Using information strategically
Nguyen Hai Chau
University of Engineering and Technology
Vietnam National University
Nguyen Hai Chau (UET, VNU) MIS/Using information strategically 1 / 14
Context
Kimball’s business has steadily grown over its first three years
Dining room is full of customers on many nights
The bar has a strong, local patrons for weekday sporting events
and afterwork gathering. Several nights a week, there was
standing room only in the bar area
The point-of-sale (POS) system helped the dining and kitchen
operations and provided several benefits over the hardcopy
checks
The new system tracked and stored each meal and customer
check information: added new details for analysis without
manual data entry
Liz and Michael wonder if they should consider expansion
Nguyen Hai Chau (UET, VNU) MIS/Using information strategically 2 / 14
An opportunity
Liz and Michael were approached by Shaun Reilly, whose family
owned a lakeside campground property about five miles from the
restaurant
Shaun was looking to sell or lease the property for an alternative
use
The campground’s picturesque view of Lake Zephyr was an
excellent location for a restaurant:
The main building had housed a medium-sized restaurant for
the campground
Several areas could be easily converted to expand the current
dining room area
The building included a spacious covered patio area that was
used as a lounge area for campers and could be used for
additional lakeview dining during the warmer months
Nguyen Hai Chau (UET, VNU) MIS/Using information strategically 3 / 14
An opportunity
Although the building was over 30 years old, Shaun’s family had
maintained the property meticulously
The dining area would increase their dining capacity to 110 seats
and the lounge area to 25
