Patient firm gets cooking

Executives at MenuPad, a Tampa-based firm that infuses iPad and related tablet technology into restaurant menus, have been unusually patient for the last three years.

After all, the interactive menu firm's only client since late 2010 has been Carmel Cafe, a chain of six Mediterranean cuisine eateries. The patience partially stems from the firm's chairman, Outback Steakhouse co-founder Chris Sullivan, who can afford to take his time on a project after an ultra-successful 40 years in hospitality. “We are a better company for being able to work with Carmel Cafe,” MenuPad CEO Vic Lafita says. “We've seen the ups and downs with the technology and we've been able to improve the applications.”

But now Lafita says the firm's slow stroll is about to take on a much greater sense of urgency. In late March, for example, the firm announced six new clients that have dozens of locations in Florida and Charlotte, N.C. The firm's payroll is also up significantly, from three employees last June to around 20 today. “There's a ton of momentum building for us now,” Lafita tells Coffee Talk. “I think you will see big things from MenuPad this year and in 2015.”