Ètra and Café Telegrama Operate Two Restaurants from One Kitchen Using Square
Square has announced that Los Angeles restaurants Ètra and Café Telegrama have adopted its unified commerce platform to support their distinct restaurant concepts while operating from the same kitchen. Located side by side in the city’s Melrose Hill neighborhood, the sister restaurants serve customers at different times of the day and offer two different dining experiences under one operational setup.
Café Telegrama operates during the daytime as an all-day café and quick-service eatery, while Ètra takes over in the evening as a full-service Italian restaurant. Although the concepts have separate identities, menus and service models, they share a kitchen, making efficient technology and reliable operational systems particularly important to the restaurants’ day-to-day operations.
The businesses were co-founded by General Manager Andrew Lawson and Executive Chef Evan Algorri, whose backgrounds in the restaurant industry helped shape the concepts around hospitality, food and a strong connection to the dining experience.
Lawson began developing his career in restaurants after working for Bon Appétit. His interest in the food industry eventually led him to pursue restaurant operations full time, where he held general manager positions at several establishments, including Estela. His experience across different restaurant environments helped him understand the operational challenges involved in delivering consistent service while maintaining a strong guest experience.
Algorri developed his passion for cooking at an early age. His culinary perspective was further influenced by extensive travel throughout Italy, where he experienced the country’s regional food traditions and restaurant culture. He also gained experience at prominent fine-dining establishments in New York City, including Marea and Bouley.
Together, Lawson and Algorri developed Café Telegrama and Ètra as complementary concepts designed to serve different occasions while operating within the same physical location.
From Coffee Counter to Daytime Restaurant
Café Telegrama originally began as a relatively modest coffee counter. The initial concept focused on beverages and a limited selection of pastries sourced from neighboring bakeries. As the team evaluated the restaurant’s potential and customer demand, the menu expanded.
That evolution transformed Café Telegrama into a daytime quick-service restaurant offering a broader range of food and beverage options. The expanded menu gave the restaurant an opportunity to attract customers beyond traditional coffee occasions while also increasing revenue during the daytime operating period.
Ètra serves as the evening counterpart to Café Telegrama. The full-service Italian restaurant focuses on Italian-inspired cuisine prepared with fresh California ingredients. Located directly behind Café Telegrama, Ètra transforms the same overall operation into a more traditional sit-down dining experience at night.
Since opening in 2023, the two concepts have developed a local following through seasonal menus, carefully designed interiors and a hospitality-focused approach. The restaurants have also received recognition within the culinary community. In 2025, Algorri was named a semifinalist for the James Beard Award for Best Chef: California.
One Kitchen, Two Service Models
Operating two restaurants with different service formats from one shared kitchen presents a distinctive operational challenge.
During the day, the kitchen supports Café Telegrama’s quick-service model, where customers expect efficient ordering and fast fulfillment. Later, the same kitchen transitions into supporting Ètra’s full-service dinner operation, where orders are typically more complex and service is organized around individual tables and courses.
The limited downtime between the two concepts means that the restaurants need systems capable of supporting both operating models without creating unnecessary complexity for employees.
For Lawson and the team, selecting a point-of-sale system that could reliably accommodate both restaurants was therefore an important consideration. They needed technology that could support different ordering and payment workflows while also providing accurate reporting across the businesses.
The restaurants ultimately selected Square’s unified commerce platform.
According to Lawson, several Café Telegrama employees were already familiar with Square because of experience using the platform at previous jobs. While Square had already established a reputation among the team for quick-service operations, its expanding capabilities for full-service restaurants helped make it suitable for Ètra as well.
Lawson said the combination of the platform’s functionality, lower processing and software costs, and the ability to consolidate reporting made the transition a practical decision for the restaurant group.
Square Technology Connects Front and Back of House
Ètra and Café Telegrama use several Square hardware solutions, including Square Register, Square Stand and Square Handheld. These tools support order entry and payment processing across the two concepts.
One of the key benefits of the system is the connection between the point of sale and the shared kitchen. Orders entered through the POS are sent directly to the kitchen’s printers, creating a consistent workflow for kitchen employees regardless of which restaurant is operating.
This means the kitchen team can use the same basic system throughout the day, even as the menu, service model and customer experience change from Café Telegrama to Ètra.
For a restaurant operation that depends on one kitchen serving two separate concepts, this centralized approach can help reduce operational friction and keep communication between the front and back of house organized.
Ètra also uses Square’s integration with Resy. The integration allows course information entered through the point of sale to synchronize with the reservation system.
As guests progress through their meal, course statuses such as appetizers, entrées and desserts can be reflected in the reservation system. This gives front-of-house employees greater visibility into the progress of each table without requiring them to physically check on every table.
That visibility can be particularly useful in a full-service restaurant, where timing between courses and coordination among servers, kitchen staff and hosts can directly affect the dining experience.
Supporting Restaurant Growth Through Unified Technology
For Ètra and Café Telegrama, adopting Square is part of a broader effort to simplify restaurant operations while maintaining two distinct brands.
Rather than managing completely separate technology systems for the daytime café and evening restaurant, the team can operate both concepts through connected tools. The shared platform also provides consolidated reporting, allowing restaurant leadership to gain a clearer view of performance across both businesses.
James Schonzeit, Head of Food & Beverage at Square, said the two restaurants demonstrate how operators can create different dining experiences while maintaining a shared operational foundation.
Running a quick-service restaurant and a full-service restaurant from one kitchen requires careful coordination. By using technology designed to support both formats, the team can focus more of its attention on food preparation, service and hospitality rather than managing disconnected systems.
The Ètra and Café Telegrama model also illustrates how restaurant operators can make more effective use of a single physical location. A space that functions as a daytime café can transition into a full-service restaurant in the evening, allowing the business to serve different customer occasions while using shared infrastructure.
As restaurants continue to explore ways to improve efficiency and maximize the value of their spaces, unified technology platforms can play an increasingly important role. For businesses with multiple concepts, shared kitchens or different service periods, the ability to connect payments, ordering, kitchen operations, reservations and reporting can help create a more consistent operational environment.
For more information about the restaurants, customers can visit Ètra at etra.la and Café Telegrama at cafetelegrama.com. Square also provides technology solutions designed to support food and beverage businesses, including point-of-sale hardware, payment processing, ordering and restaurant management capabilities.
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