How Restaurants are Preparing for the New Normal
How Restaurants are Preparing for the New Normal
In talking with our clients there seems to be a common thread in everyone’s thoughts. They want to transition back to normality. This transition would be a gradual reopening of restaurants whereas festivals and ball parks may take longer.
The pandemic has encouraged many restaurants who had not considered take-out to start offering it. Online ordering systems and third-party delivery apps have made this an increasingly realistic prospect.
Restaurants should have a dedicated “staging area” for carry-out as many guests want to preserve the dining experience. A separate entrance would be optimal. All of this change in operations has created the need for staff. As a result hospitality recruiters such as Patrice & Associates Hospitality Recruiting are partnering with restaurants to understand their goals and staffing needs.
It will be important to balance the table-turns required to return to profit while acknowledging desires for physical distancing. How restaurants are laid out, in terms of flow and concentration of seating, will be key sensitivities to address. It does seem strange to see big signs on empty tables staying “table close as required by the Health Department”‘.
Digital ordering and delivery has increased 300%.
Most restaurants on on-board with the current New Normal. Those restaurants that do not adapt will be left behind. I personally have seen billboards for restaurants that are doing carry-out and delivery that I never expected would make the change. The flood gates are about to open with regard to the need for staff. Hospitality Recruiters and integral because restaurants don’t have time to perform all the steps of finding top talent while they are making the necessary changes.
One of the most interesting innovations I’ve seen are chefs engaging with their customers through online cooking demonstrations in combination with meal-kits delivered to their homes. As the transition to normal progresses, production values for these should improve with appropriate staging for presentations given more attention within the commercial kitchen environment.
As more and more people want the social interaction, they want to know they are in a safe environment.
To sum it up, here are some important things for restaurants to consider and we move to more restaurants opening.
- Dedicated Take-out Area for Staging.
- Partnering a Fine Dining Experience with a Take-Out Option
- Social Distancing in the Dining Room
- Connecting with the Home Chef
- Cleaner Aesthetic and Home Comforts
- Automated Restaurants/Automation
- Work with a Hospitality or Restaurant Recruiter to help staff
