Founded in 2009, Luke’s Lobster began as a single seafood shack with a mission to serve traceable, sustainable seafood sourced directly from fishermen the team knows and trusts. What started as one humble shop in New York City quickly evolved into a beloved fast-casual brand known for its signature lobster, crab, and shrimp rolls. Today, Luke’s Lobster operates 29 domestic locations and 13 international outposts across Japan and Taiwan, all while maintaining its commitment to quality, sustainability, and a people-first culture. As the company expanded rapidly across the U.S. and abroad, its back-office systems struggled to keep pace. Leadership realized they needed a restaurant-specific, cloud-based accounting solution that could support lean growth, empower store-level managers with real-time insights, and eliminate the inefficiencies of their outdated accounting tool, QuickBooks.
As Luke’s Lobster expanded rapidly across the U.S. and into international markets, its back-office operations struggled to keep up. The company needed a restaurant-specific accounting solution that could support lean growth without overburdening the team. Their existing software lacked the functionality and flexibility required to manage multi-location financials at scale.
Key challenges included:
Luke’s Lobster needed a modern, cloud-based solution that would eliminate manual work, improve accuracy, and empower its team with the accounting insights needed to operate each location at its best.
Luke’s Lobster decided to switch from QuickBooks to Restaurant365 because of its centralized database and robust restaurant-specific accounting functionality. Restaurant365 now allows the team to manage all 29 domestic and 13 international locations efficiently, without the need to scale the back-office team. Features like automated inter-store transfers, bulk data uploads, and real-time financial visibility empowered both executives and store-level managers to make faster, more informed decisions. The software’s intuitive design and ever-expanding modules turned basic accounting into a full ERP solution that supports smarter, leaner operations at every level.
Since implementing Restaurant365, Luke’s Lobster has scaled its operations significantly across the U.S. and into international markets. Because its data is centralized in one cloud-based system, leaders now have real-time visibility into each location’s performance, from labor and food costs to P&Ls and waste. This transparency allows for faster decision-making and empowers managers at every level to take ownership of their performance.
Because all of our data is in a centralized place, someone in my level can always see what is happening at the store level. There is no need to play detective because everything is connected and synced.
Steve Song, Chief Financial Officer
Luke’s Lobster
Operationally, the team has seen a dramatic reduction in manual data entry and reconciliation work, thanks to features like bulk spreadsheet uploads and automated inter-location transfers. And because everything is automatically recorded in one place, the team can capture any information they need themselves, eliminating the need to email accounting to request a specific report to then wait for them to respond.
At the store-level, managers at each location benefit from user-specific logins and tailored access to performance data, helping them make real-time adjustments to labor, costs, and efficiency. They can easily find the answer to questions like, “Why is my labor high?” and make adjustments based on the data Restaurant365 provides. With Restaurant365 doing the heavy lifting behind the scenes, Luke’s Lobster is now positioned to grow smarter, leaner, and faster, without sacrificing financial control or operational clarity.
By making the switch to Restaurant365, Luke’s Lobster found more than just a new accounting system — it gained a strategic growth partner. The platform’s centralized, restaurant-specific tools have streamlined operations, reduced manual workload, and empowered teams with the real-time data they need to make confident, performance-driven decisions. As Luke’s Lobster continues to expand its footprint while staying true to its mission of sustainability and quality, Restaurant365 remains a foundational part of its success, helping the team grow leaner, work smarter, and focus on what matters most: serving great seafood and creating meaningful connections in every community they reach.
Real-time visibility into performance
by store location
International & domestic expansion
without increasing back-office headcount
Store-level manager access to data
including labor, cost & performance
Discover how you can start achieving savings like these for your business
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Restaurant365 bridges the gap between accounting and operations by centralizing all data, helping restaurant operators to become more efficient, accurately forecast, and tackle any challenge or opportunity with speed and accuracy.
