Alpine House Restaurant

Website

My role

Frontend Developer
Backend Developer

STACK

React
Supabase
Css
JavaScript
Responsive Design

TIMELINE

3-4 weeks

Description

Complete website redesign with focus on showcasing Alpine cuisine and enabling easy content management for restaurant staff.

OVERVIEW

Built a full-stack restaurant website with custom admin dashboard that allows owners to manage menu items, update prices, and add daily specials in real-time without technical knowledge.

Challenge

Alpine House wanted to showcase their authentic Austrian-German cuisine online and needed a way to manage their menu dynamically. The main challenges were:

  • Update menu items and prices frequently without contacting a developer
  • Add daily or seasonal specials that change regularly
  • Maintain the authentic Alpine atmosphere in the design
  • Make the site mobile-friendly for customers browsing on phones
  • Create an intuitive admin interface for non-technical staff

Traditional restaurant websites with static menus required developer involvement for every update, costing time and money. They needed a self-service solution.

Process

1. Research & Planning

I talked with restaurant owners to understand their workflow, menu structure, and pain points with their old website. Identified that menu updates and specials management were the biggest issues costing them $200-300/month in developer fees.

2. Design & Database Architecture

Designed a clean, Alpine-themed website that highlights food photography and German heritage. Built a Supabase database schema for menu items, categories, specials, and pricing with real-time sync capabilities.

3. Development - Public Website

Created the customer-facing site in React with responsive design, smooth navigation between Home, About, Menu, and Specials pages. Integrated Supabase for dynamic data loading.

4. Development - Admin Dashboard

Built a secure admin panel where staff can:
- Add / edit / delete menu items with photos
- Update prices instantly
- Create and schedule daily specials
- See changes reflected on live site immediately

5. Testing & Training

Tested with actual restaurant data, refined the UI based on staff feedback, and provided simple documentation for ongoing management.

Solution

Dynamic Menu Management

Restaurant staff can now update menu items, prices, and descriptions through an intuitive admin dashboard—no coding required. Changes appear on the live site instantly.

Specials System

Daily or seasonal specials can be added with one click, complete with photos, descriptions, and pricing. Perfect for highlighting chef's recommendations or seasonal dishes.

Authentic Design

Website design reflects Alpine House's Austrian-German heritage with clean typography, warm colors, and focus on food photography. Mobile-responsive for customers browsing menus on their phones.

Real-Time Updates

Using Supabase's real-time capabilities, any change in the admin dashboard syncs immediately to the live website—no deployment or refresh needed.

Cost Savings

Eliminated monthly developer fees ($200-300/month) for simple menu updates, paying for itself within the first month.