Case study · QSR delivery
Optimizing QSR delivery: how California Chicken Cafe
cut 3 hours of daily dispatch
with Toast and Cartwheel
AI dispatch replaced hours of manual routing, lifting on-time delivery 24% and freeing managers to run the kitchen through the lunch and dinner rush.
About the company
California Chicken Cafe is a family-owned, quick-service restaurant group known for its rotisserie chicken, wraps, and salads. With high lunch and dinner delivery volume, the team needed dispatch to keep pace without tying up managers in logistics.
The challenge
A legacy system and heavy manual overhead.
CCC was dissatisfied with its previous delivery provider, whose auto-dispatch failed to optimize routes effectively. The result was slower, less reliable deliveries during the busiest service windows.
Manual overhead was the clearest symptom. Managers spent about 3 hours every day manually assigning orders to keep deliveries fast through the lunch and dinner rushes, time pulled away from the kitchen and the floor, day after day.
The solution
AI dispatch that outperforms manual routing.
CCC connected Toast for ordering and POS with Cartwheel to manage delivery. Cartwheel’s dispatch automation replaced the manual work, with three capabilities doing the heavy lifting.
“Best in market” AI
An algorithm that outperforms human dispatching, replacing hours of manual order assignment.
Hybrid routing
“Preferred Driver” features automatically route high-priority orders to top-rated drivers.
Total visibility
Real-time tracking and in-app chat give guests a worry-free delivery experience.
The combination is what made it work. Smart routing without visibility leaves guests guessing, and visibility without route optimization still burns manager hours. Together, the AI dispatch and live tracking freed the team while keeping deliveries fast.
“We have saved about 3 hours daily. Guests experience on-time deliveries more consistently, allowing for a worry-free experience.”
Results: faster service, freed-up managers
Before vs. after switching to Cartwheel dispatch.
Based on California Chicken Cafe management’s reported results.
The outcome
Managers back where they matter.
The headline is the three hours saved every day, but the operational win runs deeper. With Cartwheel handling dispatch, managers shifted their attention from assigning orders to running the kitchen and supporting staff during the busiest rushes.
The clearest signal is consistency: on-time delivery rates improved by 24%, with hot food arriving fast. That worry-free experience drove higher satisfaction and more repeat orders, lifting revenue by about 10% and turning a dispatch fix into a measurable revenue gain.