The Lobster Pot is a Liverpool institution. For decades, it’s been the final stop of a good day or night out, serving classic fish and chips, burgers and comfort food to a steady stream of customers across two busy city branches at Whitechapel and Ranelagh Street.
When the crowds roll in after midnight and queues build quickly, menus need to be instantly clear, and service needs to keep pace. The Lobster Pot turned to CCR Systems for a smarter way to manage EPOS and digital menus, without adding friction during their busiest hours.
Enter CCR Systems, ready to support a late-night Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) where clarity, accuracy and reliability matter most.
The Challenge
Late-night trading brings a unique kind of pressure. Orders come in waves, staff are moving fast and customers want to make decisions quickly, often with a queue forming behind them.
The Lobster Pot also operates time-based pricing, with prices changing during early-hours trading. That meant digital menu screens needed to update automatically at the right moment, without staff intervention and without causing confusion at the counter.
Across two branches, the solution needed to be:
- Clear and easy to read in fast-moving environments
- Precise with pricing, even during overnight changes
- Stable during long trading hours
- Closely aligned with the EPOS system behind the scenes
The Solution
CCR Systems delivered a combined EPOS and cloud-based digital menu solution, designed around the realities of high-volume, late-night QSR service.
What We Did:
- EPOS Installation Across Two Sites: 15.6-inch-wide screen EPOS terminals were installed at both branches, along with 10.1-inch customer facing screens, offering responsive touch performance and clear visibility during peak trading.
- EPOS Software: As an authorised ICRTouch partner, we loaded each terminal with ICRTouch software, designed with hospitality venues in mind. Also, they utilise the benefits of their cloud-based back office, providing consistent product setup, pricing logic and reporting across both locations.
- Integrated Card Payments: The EPOS integrates directly with Paymentsense card terminals, allowing fast, secure transactions without slowing the queue or introducing manual errors.
- Cloud-Based Digital Menu Screens: Older menu hardware was replaced with cloud-managed digital menu boards, giving the team central control over content across both sites.
- Linux-Based Stability: The screens run on CCR Systems’ Linux-based operating system, selected for reliability during extended late-night trading.
- Automated Time-Based Pricing: Menu content is scheduled to update automatically at lunchtime and in the early hours, ensuring pricing changes happen accurately and consistently.
- Testing, Refinement & Collaboration: The digital signage rollout wasn’t entirely plain sailing. Aligning scheduled menu changes with live EPOS pricing required careful testing and adjustment, becoming a valuable learning experience for both teams. Through collaboration and refinement, the system is now running smoothly across both locations.
The Impact
The new EPOS & digital menu setup has delivered tangible improvements:
- Clearer Menus: Digital screens make it easier for customers to decide quickly, keeping queues moving.
- Pricing Accuracy: Automated lunchtime and overnight price changes remove the risk of manual errors.
- Smoother Service: Faster transactions and clearer menus reduce pressure on staff during peak late-night periods.
- Centralised Control: Menus and content can be updated remotely across both branches.
Promotions That Pull Focus
In a late-night QSR environment, menus do more than display prices, they shape decisions. The Lobster Pot wanted its digital menu screens to actively highlight special promotions and higher-margin products, particularly during busy trading windows.
CCR Systems configured the menus so selected items can be prioritised, rotated or given greater visual prominence. This ensures profitable products are front and centre when customer decision-making is fastest.
Because the platform is cloud-managed, promotions can be updated instantly across both branches. Scheduled rules also allow promotional content to change automatically alongside overnight pricing, keeping offers relevant without adding workload for staff.
The result is a menu system that quietly supports smarter selling while keeping the customer experience simple and intuitive.
“Every quick service restaurant operates differently, especially after midnight. Working closely with The Lobster Pot helped us refine the setup so the technology worked around their trading hours, not the other way round.”
Steve, CCR Systems
Conclusion
With cloud-based digital menu screens and a robust EPOS setup from CCR Systems, The Lobster Pot has modernised its operation without losing momentum. Menus are clearer, pricing stays accurate and service flows more smoothly, even in the early hours.
It’s a smart catch for a late-night QSR that needs technology to perform long after most places have closed. Looking to the future, we hope to support the Lobster Pot by implementing more modern amenities like their own ordering app or self service kiosks.
Looking to upgrade your EPOS or digital menus? Contact CCR Systems to see how we can help your venue keep moving.