By Jill Colvin
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MIDTOWN — At Joe the Art of Coffee's morning kiosk in Grand Central Terminal, cashiers are testing out a new way to take orders.
Earlier this month, the popular java stand traded its traditional cash register for a sleek new iPad. And customers are taking notice.
"Whenever they realize [that we're using one] they go, 'Wow! That's an iPad. Cool!'" said cashier Amy Hattemer, 27, who wielded an iPad while collecting payments and handing out cups of coffee during the Monday morning rush.
Joe's has outfitted their Grand Central store's iPad with an app called "ShopKeep" that lets staffers ring up orders and calculate change, which staffers pull from a change drawer, and also tracks sales in real time. The company is also using the new technology at its Columbia University branch.
"It's great because it also keeps a backup online with all of our sales," Hattemer said.
Not far away, at the newly opened Steve's Craft Ice Cream shop on East 42nd Street between Fifth and Madison avenues, staff have also turned to the popular gizmo in lieu of a cash register.
Steve's uses a different app, called "Square," that allows staff to ring up orders using color-coded menu item buttons. The store is planning to transition to ShopKeep as part of a pilot program soon, staffers said.
Steve's manager Stacey Slate said the iPad has been a hit with customers, who love to ask about it when they see it sitting on the countertop.
"We get just as many questions about [the iPad] as we do about our ice cream," said Slate, 25. She said the shop plans to buy several additional iPads so that staff can walk around the store helping customers while also ringing them up.
Joe's customer Mike Addeo, 25, of Murray Hill, said he wasn't surprised that some stores would move to the iPad — calling the portable technology "neat."
Mark Secrest, 45, who lives in Gramercy Park, agreed.
"I think Joe is cool so whatever they do is all right with me," he said as he stopped for his morning caffeine fix in Grand Central Terminal Monday morning.
