How one iconic San Francisco restaurant makes guests feel like family

Like most restaurateurs, Pete Sittnick has a lot on his mind these days. The owner of San Francisco’s Waterbar and EPIC Steak restaurants is still waiting and wondering if conventions and business travel will ever return to 2019 levels.

This uncertainty isn’t stopping Sittnick from thriving in a changed industry. He’s doubling down on the fundamentals of the restaurant business and offering truly over-the-top hospitality. This fuels not only success but also satisfaction for him and his team. Here’s how OpenTable plays a role in creating magic for guests without compromising the bottom line, even in a challenging environment.

Personalized hospitality, at scale

Waterbar is a big restaurant with more than 200 seats that welcomes a mix of locals and tourists. “It’s not the kind of neighborhood place where everyone who works here knows the name of every single guest,” says Sittnick. But Waterbar has a secret weapon when it comes to offering personalized service, even if someone has only dined there once or twice before: OpenTable guest notes.

Waterbar front of house team members are trained to capture every little detail they can learn about guests when they’re dining at the restaurant. They’re taught to quickly jot a note and hand it off to the front desk after service. Then, it’s meticulously entered into guest notes. No detail is too small to record.

If a guest lives in the neighborhood, that nugget becomes part of the guest profile. Birthdays, anniversaries, and special occasions are entered in. “If someone joins us with their dog, we note that the guest has a dog and, if possible, even the dog’s name,” says Sittnick. Next time they dine, Waterbar gets ready to greet them with dog-friendly outdoor seating and water for the pup, who, like its owner, can be welcomed by name.

It’s so important to Sittnick that regulars feel like family that Waterbar goes to great lengths to accommodate what Sittnick generously calls dining idiosyncrasies.

“We have one guest that brings their own avocado. They know we have avocados, but they like to bring their own,” he says. Thanks to guest notes, every team member is prepared for this guest’s arrival. “We know exactly what they want done with the avocado—it’s sliced, put on a separate plate, and served alongside the salad they always order.”

Sittnick says guest notes are essential to delivering the same personalized and high touch hospitality even when he’s not there. Waterbar is open 7 days a week and has 6 managers and 125 team members on staff, and guest notes mean that everyone has the same vital information at their fingertips.

Delighting guests is the part of the business closest to Sittnick’s heart. He eagerly reads industry news and surveys that report what matters most to restaurant guests, and while food, service, and atmosphere are also important, nothing trumps personal recognition.

“What I love about restaurants is being on the floor tapping into the emotional energy of people enjoying themselves. My ability to take care of guests, to be a maître d’, is enhanced by everything we have recorded in our guest notes,” he says.