The Pizza Problem Toast Can’t Solve (Part 1)

If you run a pizza chain, or even just manage a single store, you already know pizza isn’t just a menu item; it's the entire operating model, and it's much different than running a burger or taco joint. There’s a different complexity to juggling operations and management. “Light cheese on the veggie side.” Timed bakes. Order regrouping. Delivery zones and driver dispatch. Friday-night surges that can make or break your week. 

General-purpose restaurant POS platforms (like Toast) can be good at many things. But “good at everything” often means “not great at pizza.”

Toast is a capable restaurant POS. Adora is a pizza-native operating system. By focusing on one model, Adora reduces clicks, errors, and add-ons, while giving you hardware freedom, payment flexibility, and chain-ready controls. The result: a faster, and more reliable Friday night.

Platform flexibility: Adapt your POS to your shop, not the other way around

One of the first differences you’ll feel is hardware flexibility. Toast’s approach is optimized for its own device ecosystem; that’s great for standardization, but can feel limiting when you want to spin up an extra station for the rush or replace a down terminal in minutes. Adora is cloud-native and browser-based, so it runs on the devices you already own, like front-counter terminals, kitchen displays, office laptops, or tablets. That matters when you’re wanting to add a second makeline for football season, test a to-go window, or opening store #3 and want to avoid a big hardware bill.

Flexibility also shows up in maintenance. Because Adora lives in the browser, updates are centralized, so no juggling versions across a mixed fleet. When your objective is to keep ovens full and lines short, being able to add capacity fast (with hardware you choose) is more than a convenience; it’s throughput.

Takeaway: Toast’s integrated hardware model suits low-complexity restaurants. Pizzerias, especially chains, benefit from Adora’s “run anywhere” approach that lets you scale stations and stores quickly and economically.

Payments and predictability: keep your leverage

POS and payments are inseparable in day-to-day operations, but they don’t have to be inseparable in your contracts. Toast couples its POS to its payment processing. The upside is simplicity; the downside is less flexibility if and when rates or terms change. Adora keeps payments open and processor-agnostic. You get the benefit of selecting a processing partner that fits your volume, support expectations, and cash-flow needs.

For pizza, where margins are thin and order volume is high, that leverage matters. A few basis points saved, and just as important, the ability to avoid unwelcome surprises add up every busy weekend. Predictable costs make better planning.

Takeaway: If you want “set it and forget it,” tight coupling can be fine. If you want control and negotiating room, Adora’s openness protects your pennies (and your peace of mind).

Pizza-native workflows: Fewer clicks, fewer workarounds, faster service

This is where specialization shows. Toast serves a broad array of different types of establishments, but pizza is different enough that “it can do it” isn’t the same as “it’s built for it.”

Adora’s user interface and workflows are pizza-focused:

• Halves, quarters, and asymmetric toppings priced correctly without manager overrides.
   
• Makeline-first routing mirrors how your kitchen actually moves; dough → toppings → oven → cut & wrap, so each station sees exactly what’s next.
   
• Bake modifiers (well-done, extra crispy, light cheese) and clear size/quadrant cues reduce back-and-forth and remakes.
   
• Combos, slices, and catering/timed orders flow naturally, so counter staff move faster and training gets easier.
   

When these details are native, your team spends less time fighting the POS and more time moving tickets. On a 200-order Friday, shaving seconds off of each ticket equates to more revenue and reduced labor cost; it’s the difference between “in the weeds” and “in control.”

Takeaway: Toast covers general workflows across cuisines. From its foundation, Adora was thoughtfully designed to accommodate the unique complexities that are engrained into running a pizzeria.

Stay Tuned

If you enjoyed this blog, stay tuned for part 2! And if you can’t wait that long, feel free to schedule a demo with our team.