Staff from street food venue Bustler inside its newly expanding Nottingham venue, where fellow Derby firm Scenariio is fitting smart building technology to help it reduce operating costs and energy usage
A pioneering Nottingham entertainment venue is set to extend its use of smart building technology to help it reduce operating costs and energy usage as it prepares to expand into a second unit.
Street food venue Bustler, based in in Avenue E at Sneinton Market, says it plans to add more equipment to its existing IT monitoring system, which transmits up-to-the-date operating data such as ambient temperature, air quality, light levels and numbers of people on site.
The company has operated its current outlet since October 2022 and is now expanding into a second unit next door, which will feature permanent kitchen space for three independent operators as well as an intimate espresso and wine bar.
Ever since Bustler was established in Derby in 2013, it has pioneered the use of smart building technology in conjunction with fellow Derby IT firm Scenariio, with which it was recently shortlisted in the Best Use of Technology category of the Restaurant Marketer and Innovator Awards earlier this year.
Both of Bustler’s Nottingham and Derby venues are bristling with human movement sensors, intelligent lighting systems, temperature monitors and CCTV cameras to give its operators an instant snapshot of what’s going on inside the venue at any one time.
It means that, just by looking at their phone, they know how many people are in the venue at one time, whether it is too cold or too hot and what the most popular areas within the venue are.
The lighting is also automatically adjusted to dim or switch off lights in areas that are not in use, or increased throughout the evening as the daylight outside fades.
Olivia Pritchard, managing director of Bustler, says the equipment helps her and her team to run a tight ship at both venues, adding that the lessons learned from the data in Derby has influenced the design and lay-out of Nottingham.
She said: “Running a venue like ours is a complex business and the data we receive from the technology is genuinely useful, not least because we don’t need a member of staff with a clicker on the door to monitor how many people are inside.
“That’s an instant saving, while it also ensures that no lights get left on overnight, so we save on energy as well. We will be installing mainly CCTV in the second phase but there is no doubt that the operational data from Derby and Nottingham has helped us to imagine the new space and will help us when it’s up and running.”
Scenariio’s technology is increasingly in demand from companies looking to use smart technology to help reduce operating costs and former clients include Gymshark, Severn Trent Water and Tarmac.
Tom Erskine, the company’s business development manager, said: “The hospitality sector is undergoing big operating challenges at the moment and although the equipment we supply does require an investment, it pays dividends in the long run.
“Bustler is definitely one of our success stories. Olivia and her team have been able to use the technology to save money and energy and to really understand their venues and how they are used from their customers’ point of view.”
For more information on Scenariio visit www.scenariio.com.
