Two hospitality technology companies with deep industry roots have joined forces to address the mounting back-office challenges facing restaurant and venue operators across Australia and New Zealand.
Loaded, which provides all-in-one stock management, time and attendance, and reporting tools to more than 10,000 hospitality owners and managers, has partnered with Tech Pantry, a hands-on advisory firm led by an active café owner.
The collaboration brings together two executives who understand the operational pressures firsthand. Richard McLeod, CEO of Loaded, previously owned and operated several venues in New Zealand, including the Captain Cook Tavern in Dunedin. Andy Gordon, Managing Director of Tech Pantry, currently owns and operates Top Shop café in Byron Bay.
“At Loaded, we build the software I wish I’d had when I was running venues,” McLeod said. “The back-office is complicated, but it doesn’t need to be. Partnering with Andy and Tech Pantry means operators don’t just get great technology – they get trusted advisors who know exactly what it’s like to be in their shoes.”
Gordon emphasised how his continued involvement in day-to-day café operations keeps him connected to operators’ real-world challenges. “Running a café keeps me close to the same challenges our customers face,” he said. “Our role at Tech Pantry is to stand alongside operators, offering practical, hands-on support so the software delivers results where it counts – in time saved and margins improved.”
The partnership addresses a common industry pain point: the lack of proper implementation support for technology adoption. While Loaded handles the software development, Tech Pantry provides the advisory services and hands-on guidance to ensure venues maximise their technology investments.
Both companies operate on the principle that the hospitality industry doesn’t need more technology solutions, but rather the right technology backed by experts who have lived the challenges of venue operation.
The collaboration comes as hospitality operators continue to grapple with labour shortages, rising costs, and increasingly complex back-office management requirements in the post-pandemic landscape.
