For years I’ve used Ring to keep my family safe at home.

But I never seriously asked myself the obvious question:

What if I brought Ring into my restaurant?

This year, we finally did it at Cali BBQ. We didn’t just hang a single doorbell and call it a day. We unboxed a full Ring setup, installed it in under two hours, and now I can pull up my home feed and my restaurant feed from the same app—whether I’m in San Diego or standing on the trade show floor in Chicago.

Ring is here for restaurants. This is why I think it matters for any operator who cares about trust, safety, and running a tighter operation.

As a restaurateur, that’s what I care about:

* Can I see my cook line?

* Can I see my point of sale terminals or cash drawers?

* Can I see my parking lot, front door, and receiving door?

* And can I do it without scrubbing through hours of DVR footage like it’s 2007?

If the answer is “yes,” I’m listening.

17 years in business… and only now truly securing our restaurant

We’ve been in business for 17 years at Cali BBQ. We’ve survived a recession, a pandemic, and every curveball the restaurant industry throws at you.

But if I’m being honest?

We treated security like an afterthought for way too long.

That changed when Eric Olafsen (my CFO and resident installer) and I sat down, unboxed a full Ring system, and started matching devices to very specific pain points inside our restaurant.

Here’s what we actually installed and why.

The walk-in: protecting $10,000–$20,000 in product

Our walk-in cooler is where the money lives.

On a typical day, we might have around $10,000 worth of product in there—raw and cooked. On a busy weekend, it can go up to $20,000.

Traditionally, the only way to “check” on it is open the door, let the cold air out, and stare at the shelves.

That’s not a system.

So we mounted a Ring Stick Up Cam Pro in the walk-in.

Now we can:

* See product coming in and going out.

* Monitor vendors doing key drops in the middle of the night when no one else is there.

* Make sure food is being rotated properly and not quietly dying in the back of a shelf.

It’s about security, but it’s also about inventory, waste, and accountability. One camera in that walk-in helps protect tens of thousands of dollars in product every single week.

The water heater: the $10,000 flood we never want again

If you’ve been in the game long enough, you’ve had “that” morning.

For us, it was walking into the dining room and realizing our giant water heater had decided to dump what felt like every gallon it had all over our carpet, our floors, and our revenue.

Between cleanup, damage, and lost business, it cost us over $10,000.

So when we unboxed the Ring Flood and Freeze Sensor, that wasn’t a theoretical gadget. That was a “where were you when we needed you?” moment.

Here’s how we’re using it now:

* The sensor is wireless and connects to the Ring Alarm system.

* You activate it, scan the barcode, and drop it behind the water heater.

* If it detects water, we get alerted fast—before we wake up to a surprise swimming pool.

* In colder climates, that same sensor can warn you before pipes freeze.

We already paid the “tuition” on that problem once. If a $10K disaster can be turned into a quick mop-up because a sensor caught it early, that’s real ROI.

The back door: deliveries, staff, and a very eclectic neighborhood

Our back door is where everything comes in: meat, vendor deliveries, staff.

It’s also on a busy street, in what I politely call an “eclectic” neighborhood.

For security reasons, that door stays locked. But restaurant reality is messy:

* Deliveries rarely show up when they say they will.

* Drivers love trying to push through the front door when the manager isn’t expecting them.

* The timing is always “inconvenient.”

So we installed a Ring Doorbell Pro on the back receiving door and paired it with a Ring Chime so we hear it inside.

Now when someone hits that button it goes straight to the manager’s phone who can respond right away.

That’s control and respect for your operation. We’re not held hostage by whoever decides to show up whenever they feel like it.

All in all, we got the system installed in under two hours.

Lights, cameras, and actual coverage (inside and out)

Here’s some of the other Ring hardware we put to work around the property:

* Ring Floodlight Cam ProA combination light and camera. When someone walks into that area, they’re on video and lit up. Great for dark corners and parking areas.

* Ring Spotlight Cam + Solar PanelThis is our “undercover” floodlight. People don’t notice it until it turns on and they’re clearly visible on video. The solar panel keeps the batteries charged so we’re not climbing ladders every month.

* Ring Indoor CamA small, discreet camera that gives us visibility in the bar and dining area without feeling like a giant, intimidating security rig.

* Ring Stick Up Cam Pro (plug-in and battery versions)Plug-in for maximum uptime where we have power. Battery (with solar) where we don’t.

* Ring Alarm 8-Piece Security KitThis pulls a lot together:

* 24/7 professional monitoring.

* Automatic emergency response if something is detected (police, fire).

* Alarm cellular backup, so even if the internet goes down, the alarm stays connected.

* It ties into all the cameras and sensors so events are recorded and accessible.

* Glass Break SensorSmall but mighty. If someone decides to go through a window instead of a door, we’ll know about it.

All of this is mounted, paired, and managed through an app I was already using at home.

Why this matters for restaurant operators

This isn’t just about gadgets. It’s about a few big ideas I think every operator should be thinking about.

* You can’t protect what you can’t see.The walk-in, the back door, the roof, the water heater room—those are high-risk, low-visibility zones. Cameras and sensors turn blind spots into controllable systems.

* Trust is better when it’s verified.We trust our vendors. We trust our staff. But trust plus visibility is the real win:

* Are key drops happening correctly?

* Are deliveries happening when and where they’re supposed to?

* Is product being rotated and stored properly?

* Consumer UX is finally good enough for the back of house.Restaurant tech sometimes lags behind what we use at home. Ring flips that: the same app millions of people already use is now powering small business and restaurant security.

* Work-life balance needs better tools, not just better intentions.If I’m away, I can check my dining room, my walk-in, my back door, and my home—all from one screen. That doesn’t replace being there, but it does give me peace of mind and better decisions.

So, should you bring Ring into your restaurant?

I’m here to tell you what we’re actually using and how it’s working for us.

At Cali BBQ, we’re all in on experimenting with tech that makes us more efficient, more secure, and more present—for our team, our guests, and our families.

Ring is now part of our restaurant tech stack.

If you want to see exactly how we installed it and where everything lives in the building, we filmed the whole unboxing and setup at Cali BBQ, which you can watch at the top of this post.

Stay curious, stay safe with Ring, and keep building.

– Shawn

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