Conceptualising Coffeehouses

While companies are all about offering comfort and perks and benefits and all other things good in ‘remuneration packages’, the guys at Leapset, Colombo 07 take things one step ahead by not only making their technologies available to employees but also giving them hands-on experience in using and critiquing their own work.

For those of you who don’t know, Leapset develops end-to-end restaurant operating systems. Their core business lies in some of America’s biggest kitchens and here in Sri Lanka, they make this available in-house / office.

A mobile app aptly titled ‘Café Conception’ and available on iOS and Android, the guys at Leapset attempt to relive and recreate the English coffeehouses of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

#HistoricalRecap : The coffeehouses were a celebrated concept during the Age of Enlightenment so much so that they were eventually banned for the progressive ideas formulated over coffee. For further information you are advised to read here.

Where is this coffeehouse?

Literally speaking it is at 59, Flower Road, Colombo 07 and the coffeehouse usually admits jeans and casual / office wear and is not too particular on tailcoats.

So the coffee (and food) is prepared in a little kitchenette, part of a larger recreation hall that has comfortable couches, a table tennis table, carom board and sitting areas for midday or lunch breaks that probably facilitate the discussion of future revolutionary technologies.

So what exactly does this app do?

It basically helps you create orders that would be transferred to the kitchens of the restaurant in real time and voila, prepare food for you while you wait or drive into the location.

At Leapset however, things are a little limited as the orders are made by the employees (we did suggest throwing it open to the public!) and the kitchen is manned one efficient cook.

The menu so far covers a range of snacks and beverages that are prepared on demand. Leapset tells us that it is a little messy to get into rice and curry due to common concerns such as quantity and time of preparation.

Due to it being developed by a restaurant operating system, the app takes into consideration a lot of practicalities of both diners and restaurateurs. As a whole, the company’s solutions tap into four verticals of a restaurant: the outside comprising reviews and recommendations; the front with the reservation; the middle of the restaurant with the point of sales and finally the back consisting the inventory etc. Crafting a similar experience, Café Conception is able to cancel an order due to the unavailability of enough Nutella for fifteen pancakes.

As for the payment gateways, they are very secure and the diner is notified through multiple sources upon the placement, confirmation and/or cancellation of order.

#ProTip As a heavy tea/coffee drinker I highly recommend their tea. Would have it any time of the day, everyday.