There was a time when baristas just had to write a customer's name on a cup and call out. They don't always get the right name, but often it goes to the right person.
In this post-pandemic era dominated by the Uber Eats and DoorDashes of the world, the prospect of taking out has become much more nuanced. Chicago based hardware startup Pickpad It aims to solve the problem with its small square device of the same name.
product, which was demonstrated at CES 2025A small platform where coffee shops and restaurants place food and drinks when ready for takeout. The modular “Smart Pad” system connects directly to a restaurant's POS system, automatically inputting the customer's name into the database. The startup is currently testing the technology at a Chicago-based cafe.
Founder and CEO Yaro Tsyhanenko told TechCrunch that the system will be offered as a hardware-as-a-service (HaaS) package, priced from $9 to $19 per month per pad. This includes support, software, and everything needed to run a restaurant system. The exact price depends on how many pads a location accepts and whether they choose to pay annually or monthly.
Right now, the pads are still expensive to manufacture, costing about $100, per Tsyhanenko. Once Pickpad starts scaling its manufacturing efforts, this should decrease somewhat. The company is also looking at creating complete shelves that can easily slot into an Ikea bookcase, creating an automated cubbyhole system for order pickup.
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