Background: 

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In 1991, The Stinking Rose opened in San Francisco. Living up to their slogan of cooking food in their garlic (the “stinking rose”), the location quickly became one of the city's most iconic restaurants. Since its founding, they have expanded into a group that includes The Franciscan Crab in Fisherman’s Wharf, Salitos Crab House & Prime Rib, The Caprice, and The Dead Fish. 

With staff facing high call volume at multiple locations, group co-owner Dante Serafini knew he needed a solution: “We would oftentimes have a host person dedicated to answering the phone and doing their other chores too,” said Dante. “This would always be one extra job that would have to be assumed by someone in the host department.”

In late 2024, Dante spoke with Hostie CEO Randall Hom and realized Hostie was exactly what his team had been looking for.

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 “The benefit of Hostie is having someone answer the phone all the time, the same way. Collecting the information with every phone call that comes in, as opposed to a real person who has no time to answer the phone.”
Dante Serafini, Co-Owner

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The Stinking Rose Group started with Hostie in early 2025. Since then, Hostie has answered 24,000 calls, and the group has seen a 117% increase in over-the-phone covers. 

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Challenge: Answer the phone without adding to a host’s already extensive workload 

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Since onboarding Hostie, host teams at Stinking Rose Group venues don’t have to worry about answering the phone during a busy service; Hostie is taking care of it 24/7. 

Over their first six months, Hostie’s had 24,000 conversations, gave hosts back 403 hours to focus on guests, made 4,700 reservations, and fully resolved 80% of calls without transferring to a host. 

Challenge: Adopt advancing technology with an aging clientele 

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As restaurant tech becomes increasingly common, managing that alongside the restaurant industry’s aging guest base becomes essential. Hostie’s making sure that everyone knows how to make a reservation. 

“People who are ‘non-tech savvy’ don’t have to go to a computer, they don’t have to sign on or do anything. All they have to do is make a phone call,” says Dante Serafini. 

People are responding in kind. In their first month after onboarding Hostie, The Franciscan Crab saw a 117% increase in over-the-phone covers.

“We have an older clientele. We always had a problem when we moved our reservations to our website, with older people not being familiar with the computer aspect of making a reservation. Now they’re making a phone call, which is what they’re used to doing.”
Dante Serafini, Co-Owner

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‍Try Hostie today and make sure you never miss a call again.

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