Perhaps it is time we came to terms with COVID-19 being with us for a while longer. In which case we may need to adapt to a new, hopefully transitional reality. We came across a post in USA Today describing how a smart restaurant copes with COVID-19. In a nutshell, this is a matter of changing the business model to what consumers find more acceptable.
How the Smart Restaurant Copes with COVID-19
USA today describes how one Philadelphia restaurant appears to be doing well. It markets itself as a midday-to-late night, café-to-cocktails, love-based veg-based diner. However, by March 2020 the ‘gauntlet had come down’ with revenue fallen by 90%. Their only lifeline was takeout and delivery sales. But did this have to mean late night, café-to cocktails, love-based, veg-based dining was a thing of the past?
The restaurant is an example of how adaptive diners can cope with COVID according to USA Today. Cutting across to what customers preferred resulted in better than 2019 revenue by early September 2020. And this was despite indoor dining in Philadelphia being still at 25% capacity overall.
The Logical Things the Restaurant is Doing Smarter
The restaurant converted the next door alley to an outdoor dining area reflecting its brand. Space heaters warm the air. Drinks are served in insulated thermoses; temperature sensitive clients have free keepsake blankets to repel evening chills.
The restaurant is up front with its cleaning and disinfecting strategy. It optimized its menu to allow for food delivery, taking the time delay between kitchen and customers in account. ‘You have to make sure that your menu items really travel well,’ says a Connecticut soulmate.
Alex Blum CEO of a delivery service adds a small restaurant may only have 15 people at any given time with social distancing. But with delivery capability, a ‘ghost restaurant’ can reach many more customers than that, he says.
Related
Adults with COVID-19 Twice Likely to Dine Out
National Restaurant Association Table Spacing
Preview Image: Socially Distanced Dining
