Apparatus supporting restaurant incubation and related methods

Abstract

An apparatus includes at least one memory configured to store information identifying performances of multiple restaurants associated with an incubator project. The apparatus also includes at least one processor configured to correlate the performances of the restaurants over time to identify when one restaurant's performance is dependent upon one or more other restaurants' performances. The at least one processor could be configured to correlate the performances of the restaurants by correlating peak customer visits to the restaurants over time. The at least one processor could also be configured to correlate the peak customer visits to identify whether a specified one of the restaurants is visited more frequently when others of the restaurants are busier.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An apparatus comprising:
 at least one memory configured to store customer information related to a mobile device of a customer and restaurant information related to performances of first and second restaurants; and   at least one processor configured to:
 receive, from the mobile device, a first request to make a reservation at the first restaurant; 
 determine that the first request cannot be satisfied at the first restaurant; 
 identify the second restaurant that satisfies the first request; and 
 adjust the performance of the second restaurant and the performance of the first restaurant based on the second restaurant satisfying the first request. 
   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the first request is initiated in response to the mobile device scanning a code related to making the reservation at the first restaurant. 
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to correlate the performance of the first restaurant and the performance of the second restaurant over time to identify that the performance of the second restaurant is dependent upon the performance of the first restaurant. 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein, to identify the second restaurant that satisfies the first request, the at least one processor is configured to:
 receive, from the mobile device, a second request to make a reservation at the second restaurant; and   determine that the second request is able to be satisfied at the second restaurant.   
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 4 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:
 identify that the second request and the first request are related based on the stored customer information; and   adjust the performance of the second restaurant and the performance of the first restaurant based on identifying that the second request is related to the first request.   
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein, to identify the second restaurant that satisfies the first request, the at least one processor is configured to:
 identify one or more accommodating restaurants able to satisfy the first request;   transmit, to the mobile device, a list of the one or more accommodating restaurants; and   receive, from the mobile device, a selection of the second restaurant from the list.   
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein, to identify the second restaurant that satisfies the first request, the at least one processor is configured to:
 correlate a tab received from the second restaurant with the stored customer information related to the mobile device.   
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the mobile device is configured to connect to a wireless network of the first restaurant to request the reservation; and   the at least one processor is configured to identify the second restaurant in response to the mobile device connecting to a wireless network of the second restaurant.   
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:
 provide, to the mobile device, an estimated wait for satisfying the first request at the first restaurant; and   adjust the performance of the second restaurant and the performance of the first restaurant based on the second restaurant satisfying the first request in relation to the estimated wait.   
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:
 identify a minimum amount of time of the estimated wait for the customer to move from the first restaurant to the second restaurant.   
     
     
         11 . A non-transitory computer readable medium embodying a computer program, the computer program comprising computer readable program code that when executed causes at least one processor to:
 obtain customer information related to a mobile device of a customer and restaurant information related to performances of first and second restaurants;   receive, from the mobile device, a first request to make a reservation at the first restaurant;   determine that the first request cannot be satisfied at the first restaurant;   identify the second restaurant that satisfies the first request; and   adjust the performance of the second restaurant and the performance of the first restaurant based on the second restaurant satisfying the first request.   
     
     
         12 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 11 , wherein the computer program further comprises computer readable program code that when executed causes the at least one processor to:
 correlate the performance of the first restaurant and the performance of the second restaurant over time to identify that the performance of the second restaurant is dependent upon the performance of the first restaurant.   
     
     
         13 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 11 , wherein the computer readable program code that when executed causes the at least one processor to identify the second restaurant that satisfies the first request comprises:
 computer readable program code that when executed cause the at least one processor to:
 receive, from the mobile device, a second request to make a reservation at the second restaurant; and 
 determine that the second request is able to be satisfied at the second restaurant. 
   
     
     
         14 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 13 , wherein the computer program further comprises computer readable program code that when executed causes the at least one processor to:
 identify that the second request and the first request are related based on the obtained customer information; and   adjust the performance of the second restaurant and the performance of the first restaurant based on identifying that the second request is related to the first request.   
     
     
         15 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 11 , wherein the computer readable program code that when executed causes the at least one processor to identify the second restaurant that satisfies the first request comprises:
 computer readable program code that when executed cause the at least one processor to:
 identify one or more accommodating restaurants able to satisfy the first request; 
 transmit, to the mobile device, a list of the one or more accommodating restaurants; and 
 receive, from the mobile device, a selection of the second restaurant from the list. 
   
     
     
         16 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 11 , wherein the computer readable program code that when executed causes the at least one processor to identify the second restaurant that satisfies the first request comprises:
 computer readable program code that when executed cause the at least one processor to correlate a tab received from the second restaurant with the obtained customer information related to the mobile device.   
     
     
         17 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 11 , wherein:
 the mobile device is configured to connect to a wireless network of the first restaurant to request the reservation; and   the computer readable program code that when executed causes the at least one processor to identify the second restaurant that satisfies the first request comprises:
 computer readable program code that when executed causes the at least one processor to identify the second restaurant that satisfies the first request in response to the mobile device connecting to a wireless network of the second restaurant. 
   
     
     
         18 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 11 , wherein the computer program further comprises computer readable program code that when executed causes the at least one processor to:
 provide, to the mobile device, an estimated wait for satisfying the first request at the first restaurant; and   adjust the performance of the second restaurant and the performance of the first restaurant based on the second restaurant satisfying the first request in relation to the estimated wait.   
     
     
         19 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 18 , wherein the computer program further comprises computer readable program code that when executed causes the at least one processor to:
 identify a minimum amount of time of the estimated wait for the customer to move from the first restaurant to the second restaurant.   
     
     
         20 . A method comprising:
 obtaining customer information related to a mobile device of a customer and restaurant information related to performances of first and second restaurants;   receiving, from the mobile device, a first request to make a reservation at the first restaurant;   determining that the first request cannot be satisfied at the first restaurant;   identifying the second restaurant that satisfies the first request; and   adjusting the performance of the second restaurant and the performance of the first restaurant based on the second restaurant satisfying the first request.