Sonia Istocka's father built Euro Gyro from nothing - literally sleeping above the kitchen of his first Akron location, closing up at night, walking upstairs to bed, then coming back down the next morning to do it all over again. That relentless work ethic turned a single storefront into a multi-location restaurant operation and a name people in Northeast Ohio know well.
When Sonia decided to carry on the family legacy - putting aside a computer engineering degree to take over the business her parents built - she inherited everything that came with it. The loyal customers, the reputation, the growth. And the phones that never stopped ringing.
Euro Gyro isn't just a dine-in restaurant. It's a bar, a takeout spot, and a delivery operation - all under one roof. On a busy Friday or Saturday night, the building is packed, music is playing, and the phones are ringing off the hook across all three lines.
"I had three phone lines and I had three cashiers working at the most, and then on top of that, my bartenders. There were quite a few people that we would have to put on hold, and if they waited too long, they would just hang up." - Sonia Istocka, Owner
The noise from the bar made it nearly impossible for cashiers to hear credit card numbers, customer names, or delivery addresses over the phone - and getting an address wrong on a delivery order is an expensive mistake. Customers who got put on hold would hang up, call back, and tie up the lines again. The cycle just kept repeating.
Sonia knew the phones were a problem even when she wasn't in the building. "When I go home at night, I know they're not answering every single phone call because it's super annoying for them," she admits. One of her staff members told her they were having dreams about the phone ringing - that's how consuming the volume had become.
But the deeper issue wasn't just missed calls. It was what the phone was doing to her team. The cashier position had become the least desirable job in the restaurant.
"The cashier position is the least liked position. We get drunk customers who want this and want that, and the cashier just has to deal with all of it - even over the phone. We have customers that can be rude, calling at 2 a.m. drunk and wanting a pizza delivered to them."
Hiring for that role was a constant battle. Sonia needed to find a way to take the phone off her cashiers' plates entirely.
Sonia approached the problem methodically - the engineer in her showing through even in a restaurant setting. First, she installed self-service kiosks to reduce the in-store ordering burden on cashiers. Then she turned her attention to the phones.
She had been watching the AI space closely and started looking for a phone answering solution that could do more than just pick up - one that could actually take orders and push them into her existing systems. When she found Loman AI and learned it integrated directly with Toast POS, she knew it was the right fit.
"I really wanted it to work with Toast POS, because I wanted there to be as much integration as possible and for it to be easy for my staff to manage and handle. Then I found Loman AI and I heard that they integrate with Toast too. I was like, 'Oh, this would be a great tool to add.'"
The difference was immediate. Loman started answering every inbound call - handling orders, fielding menu questions, and processing requests that used to eat up minutes of a cashier's time. Sonia could program it to answer the specific questions her customers asked most often, and it never lost patience, never misheard a name over bar noise, and never needed a break.
"I've even seen tickets come through - multiple tickets, like five tickets come through at the same exact time - where I know my cashier would not be able to do that. Line two and line three would be on hold while she's taking one order."
The biggest change Sonia has seen isn't on a spreadsheet - it's on the faces of her staff.
"My staff are just happier because they know they don't have to answer the phone. It's not a prominent part of their job anymore. They know that there's an AI taking care of it and they can focus on the customers that are in store."
With Loman handling the phones, cashiers can focus on the guests standing in front of them. Kitchen staff can focus on cooking. Bartenders aren't getting pulled away to help with overflow calls during a rush. The entire operation runs smoother because the single biggest source of interruption - the phone - is no longer their problem.
For Sonia, Loman solved the hiring challenge that had been nagging her for years. She no longer needs to staff multiple cashiers just to cover the phones, and the cashiers she does have are more willing to stay because the worst part of the job has been taken off their plate.
"That's why I'm happy I got the kiosks and Loman AI, and I have as few cashiers as possible."
And then there's the peace of mind. Sonia used to leave the restaurant at night knowing calls were being missed. Now she doesn't have to wonder.
"I feel like I hired someone that's super reliable and will not call off work. I know AI will always be answering. A tireless employee, a reliable employee."
Sonia's father built Euro Gyro one grueling day at a time, sleeping above his own kitchen so he could open the doors again the next morning. That kind of dedication built a business. But sustaining and growing it requires working smarter - not just harder.
By combining self-service kiosks with Loman AI, Sonia has modernized Euro Gyro's operations without losing what makes the business special. The food is still the food her family is known for. The hospitality is still personal. The only difference is that now, every single phone call gets answered - and her team can actually breathe.
For a first-generation restaurant operator carrying forward a family legacy, that changes everything.
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