Centerfold

Legend Of A Computer Network For
Motown Cafe

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Have you ever had the temptation to go out for a supreme meal? Do you want to escape from smokey kitchens where meals go awry to a place filled with the magic and memories of an era not soon to be forgotten? The Motown Cafe provides that atmosphere and much more. This jumping joint is a well-orchestrated business. The company has

installed a computer network--with a customized business management system (CBMS), and point-of-sale (POS), inventory and accounting systems--that grows with the fast track of the theme restaurant industry.

Motown Cafe managers, in addition to running the Manhattan eatery, plan to open cafes in Las Vegas next month and Orlando, Fla., by March 1998. Additionally, negotiations are under way for sites in London (as early as December 1997), the Pacific Rim, Mexico and South America. How does one design a network that satisfies today's requirements but will scale to meet future global needs?

Michael Gencarelli, president of ARvee Systems, which helped design Motown Cafe's network, explains that multiple Novell networks cluster to the corporate headquarters in New York and will be cloned for every new location. Data will be routed from the remote locations to New York so managers can keep close tabs on monetary transactions worldwide.

The company relies mostly on its CBMS from ARvee Systems. The system "captures varied data into one central location--the corporate entity--without losing the integrity of that data," Gencarelli explains. "That information is automatically transported to the restaurant's general ledger to be electronically audited" by corporate office employees.

According to Lawrence Fish, Motown Cafe's chief financial officer, this system lets the company ensure that sales have been recorded, funds are in the right accounts, and ap proved transactions, such as promotions and marketing, are taking place.

The CBMS also unites two other network systems--inventory and accounting--under one umbrella. All three parts work together to keep track of transactions. The CBMS system adjusts the restaurant's inventory and transports sales data to accounting. The employees in that department use SPFC's SQL Accounting for Windows to record the information.

Furthermore, employees can surf the Web through America Online to research possible new restaurant locations and to keep updated on their competitors' latest activities. Fish says he hopes to have a Web site available to the public within the next six months. He notes: "It would provide a true interactive experience inside our cafe and the Motown environment."