How Fournos Pizzeria and Bistro Enhanced Customer Service With VoiceBit's Phone AI

About Fournos Pizzeria and Bistro

Fournos Pizzeria and Bistro, located in San Leandro, has built a strong reputation for consistency in service and food, with recipes that date back over 40 years. Owned by Michael Kakoullis alongside his father and uncle, Fournos prides itself on its Italian heritage and homemade sauces, creating a warm, community-centered dining experience where about 60% of business comes from repeat customers.

Challenges Before VoiceBit

Despite their success, managing takeout and delivery orders was a challenge. The existing system required staff to manually create new orders, mark them as to-go, associate customer details, and process payments upon pickup. The result?

• •Manual order creation slowing down every takeout ticket
• •Awkward wait times when multiple customers arrived at once
• •Payments processed at pickup instead of at order
• •Staff pulled away from in-person guests to manage the phone

These delays meant frustrated guests, awkward pickup moments, and a phone channel that competed with the dine-in experience the family had built.

VoiceBit to the Rescue

VoiceBit is a voice-first direct ordering platform for restaurants. Its Phone AI transformed the takeout flow at Fournos by using natural language processing to handle non-scripted orders and customer questions. Customers call in, place their order with the AI, and enter payment information seamlessly, while the system also captures more revenue without third-party commissions. Orders are sent directly to the kitchen and front-of-house staff, and the setup is ready to support bilingual English and Spanish conversations.

Here's what changed:

• ✓Natural language ordering, handles non-scripted orders and customer questions without rigid menus
• ✓Seamless prepay, customers enter payment over the phone so pickup is just name and go
• ✓Direct kitchen and FOH routing, orders flow straight to the line with full POS visibility
• ✓Bilingual ready, English and Spanish conversations supported out of the box
• ✓Fast onboarding, set up and live in 24 to 48 hours with minimal input from the team

Results That Speak for Themselves

Michael Kakoullis's Takeaway

"The whole process takes about one minute, just the time it takes for customers to park and walk in. Now they simply say their name and get their food. It has paid for itself through increased efficiency and sales."

Michael Kakoullis

Owner, Fournos Pizzeria and Bistro, San Leandro

The VoiceBit Advantage

With VoiceBit, Fournos turned takeout from a bottleneck into a quiet, reliable channel. Michael and his team can now focus on the in-person experience that built the restaurant, while every phone order is handled accurately, paid for upfront, and ready when the customer walks in.