Combo Menu Items

A combo menu item bundles multiple recipes or menu items into a single sellable product — like a lunch special with an entrée, side, and drink, or a catering tray with seven sandwiches. Each component in the combo has its own cost, modifiers, and optional substitution options.

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How Combos Fit Together

Combo Menu Item: "Lunch Special" ($15.00, fixed price)
├── Component 1: Burger (Recipe) ×1.0 → cost: $5.00
│   └── Inherited modifiers: Toppings, Size
├── Component 2: Side (Menu Item) ×1.0 → cost: $2.00
│   └── Choice Group: "Pick Your Side" (Fries, Salad, Soup)
└── Component 3: Drink (Menu Item) ×1.0 → cost: $1.50
    └── Choice Group: "Pick Your Drink" (Soda, Juice, Water)

Total food cost: $8.50  |  Selling price: $15.00  |  Margin: 43%

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Two Types of Components

Every component in a combo is one of two types:

Type	What It Is	When to Use
Recipe component	A direct recipe reference with a serving size	When the combo always includes that specific dish (e.g., the burger in a burger combo)
Menu Item component	A reference to another menu item	When the component has its own pricing, modifiers, or substitution options

Each component shows a badge — Recipe (green) or Menu Item (blue) — so you can tell them apart at a glance.

Serving Sizes on Components

Every component has a serving size multiplier (shown as ×1.0, ×1.5, etc.). This controls how much of the recipe makes up one order of the combo:

• ×1.0 = one full serving of the recipe
• ×0.5 = half a serving (e.g., a half-sandwich in a combo)
• ×2.0 = double serving

The component's cost is calculated as: recipe cost per serving × serving size.

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Creating a Combo Menu Item

1. Create a new menu item (or open an existing one)
2. Check Is Combo in the item settings (or set it via the fields)
3. Set a Base price for the combo
4. Add components:
   • Recipe components: Search for and add recipes
   • Menu Item components: Search for and add existing menu items
5. Adjust serving sizes as needed
6. Drag components to reorder them

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Choice Groups (Combo Component Pools)

Choice groups let customers swap a component for an alternative. Instead of locking in "Fries" as the side, you create a choice group with Fries, Salad, Coleslaw, and Soup — and customers pick the one they want.

Creating a Choice Group

1. On a combo's component row, click Add Substitution Options (or New Choice Group if pools already exist)
2. The system creates a choice group named after the component (e.g., "Club Sandwich Options")
3. Click Edit Options to open the choice group modal

Managing Choice Group Items

In the choice group modal, you'll see:

• Eligible Item — The menu items customers can choose from
• Upcharge — An extra charge when they pick this item (shown as +$X.XX, or "included" if $0)
• Add item to choice group... dropdown — Add more menu items to the pool

For each item, you can set a price adjustment:

• $0.00 = included at no extra cost
• +$2.00 = costs $2 more than the base option
• Items with no upcharge show as "included"

How Price Adjustments Work

Upcharges are relative — they represent the extra cost when a customer picks a premium option. For example, in a sandwich tray:

Sandwich	Base Price	Upcharge in Pool
Grilled Cheese	$6.00 (cheapest)	+$0.00 (included)
BLT	$7.00	+$1.00
Club	$8.00	+$2.00
Reuben	$12.00	+$6.00

Sharing a Choice Group Across Slots

Multiple component slots can reference the same choice group. This is useful when a combo has several slots that all offer the same set of options — like a sandwich tray where every slot lets you pick from the same sandwich menu.

To assign a choice group to a slot, use the dropdown on the component row to select an existing group (or "No choices" to remove it).

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Per-Component Modifiers

Combos support modifiers at the component level. There are two ways modifiers appear on combo components:

Inherited from Recipes

When a component references a recipe that has recipe-level modifier groups, those groups are automatically inherited — scoped to that specific component. For example, if the burger recipe has "Toppings" and "Size" groups, the burger component in the combo inherits both.

Manually Assigned

You can also assign modifier groups directly to the combo item, either for the whole item or scoped to specific components. This is done from the menu item's Pricing & Modifiers section.

Default Modifier Selections

For combos where each component needs a pre-selected modifier, you can set default modifier selections. This is shown as a badge on the component row (e.g., "1 default" or "2 defaults").

Click + set defaults (or the defaults badge) to open the defaults panel, where you can pick which modifier option should be pre-selected for that component. Click Save Defaults to apply, or Clear All to remove all defaults.

Real-world example: Breakfast Burrito Tray

A tray has 5 burrito components, all using the same burrito recipe. Each component has a different default protein selected:

• Slot 1 & 2: Default = "Add Bacon"
• Slot 3 & 4: Default = "Add Ham"
• Slot 5: Default = "Add Avocado"

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Combo Pricing Strategies

Strategy	How It Works
Fixed Price	The combo has one set price regardless of component costs. Most common for combos.
Discount	A discount amount is subtracted from the sum of component prices

The fixed_price strategy is the most common — you set a single price for the combo (e.g., $15.00) and the food cost is calculated from the components.

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Real-World Examples

Lunch Combo

"Weekday Lunch Special" — $14.00 (fixed price)
├── Main: Grilled Chicken Sandwich (Recipe, ×1.0)
│   └── Inherited: Bread Choice, Add-Ons
├── Side: French Fries (Menu Item, ×1.0)
│   └── Choice Group: Pick Your Side (Fries, Salad, Soup)
└── Drink: Lemonade (Menu Item, ×1.0)
    └── Choice Group: Pick Your Drink (Lemonade, Iced Tea, Water)

Catering Sandwich Tray

"Sandwich Tray for 7" — $55.00 (fixed price)
├── Slot 1: Club Sandwich (Menu Item, ×1.0) → Pool: Sandwich Selection
├── Slot 2: BLT (Menu Item, ×1.0) → Pool: Sandwich Selection
├── Slot 3: Grilled Cheese (Menu Item, ×1.0) → Pool: Sandwich Selection
├── Slot 4: Turkey Wrap (Menu Item, ×1.0) → Pool: Sandwich Selection
├── Slot 5: Italian Sub (Menu Item, ×1.0) → Pool: Sandwich Selection
├── Slot 6: Veggie Sandwich (Menu Item, ×1.0) → Pool: Sandwich Selection
└── Slot 7: Reuben (Menu Item, ×1.0) → Pool: Sandwich Selection

Pool: "Sandwich Selection" (7 items, upcharges: $0–$6)

All 7 slots share one choice group. The customer can swap any sandwich for any other — with an upcharge for premium options.

Breakfast Burrito Tray

"Burrito Tray (5 Pack)" — $55.00 (fixed price)
├── Slot 1: Burrito (Recipe, ×2.0) → Default: Add Bacon
├── Slot 2: Burrito (Recipe, ×2.0) → Default: Add Ham
└── Slot 3: Burrito (Recipe, ×1.0) → Default: Add Avocado

Same recipe used three times with different default protein selections and different serving sizes.

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Common Questions

Q: Can a combo contain other combos?
A: A combo can include other menu items as components, and those menu items could themselves be combos. However, deeply nesting combos adds complexity — keep it simple where possible.

Q: What happens to the combo cost if I change a component's recipe?
A: The combo's food cost recalculates automatically based on the updated component costs.

Q: Can I use the same choice group for different combos?
A: Choice groups belong to a specific combo menu item. If you need the same options on a different combo, you'll create a separate choice group on that item.

Q: How do I remove a choice group?
A: Open the choice group modal and click Delete Choice Group at the bottom. Components using that group will lose their substitution options.

Q: Do customers see the component breakdown?
A: Components and choice groups are used internally for operations — meal planning, production requirements, and cost tracking. How they're presented to customers depends on your ordering system.

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Next Steps

• Understanding Modifiers — The modifier system overview
• Recipe Modifiers — How recipe-level modifiers auto-inherit to combo components
• Advanced Modifier Settings — Pricing strategies, portions, and nested choices