Nothing can stop creative pivoting in the restaurant industry.
Despite the current business climate overwhelming the food industry, restaurants have found creative ways to pivot around it.
Restaurants started selling Family Meal Packages. They offered a few meal package options during the week day for working families and a few more options on Friday, Saturday & Sunday. Mother’s Day was very successful for those restaurants that advertised their offerings. Memorial Day showed that people were gathering at home with Meal Packages. I am sure Father’s Day will be popular as well.
Opening during different meal hours also became a restaurant norm. Restaurants that were only open for breakfast/brunch are now considering opening up their dining rooms for dinner. Or if a restaurant was only open for dinner, now they are considering a weekend brunch offering.
Restaurants that didn’t have a mobile app created one due to the closing of dining rooms. As a result, restaurants saw up to a 40% increase in their takeout business. From my car I ordered and paid for my lunch. When I got to the restaurant, the staff put it in my trunk for me. I also visited a restaurant that didn’t have curbside pick up, this was also simple. Since I paid for the meal over their app, I walked in and showed my confirmation. It was on the counter and I just walked out. Less than 5 minutes. This method of takeout is very convenient for many.
Restaurants that did not have a large percentage of take out business got creative and designed a takeout menu using local products to ensure our local farming community is supported. They saw their takeout revenue grow over the past 74 days since dining rooms were closed. These restaurants will continue the takeout model as dining rooms are at 50% capacity. As their revenue was down overall, these restaurants are designing their menus to ensure their takeout sales continue while their dining room sales will be cut in half in many cases.
QR codes are being used instead of printing out menus. Use your camera and point on the QR code. You will see the menu on your phone and some also have a pay option. This helps to provide people with menu information despite not being able to print out physical copies.
And, my sincerest gratitude to our first responders, our restaurant & grocery store employees. Mahalo for continuing to show up! We see you and we appreciate you!
To our government and private sector leaders. We all know that very tough decisions had to be made for the safety of our community.
We are restaurateurs, we are resilient. When adversity strikes, we creatively pivot with integrity and our community in mind.
May you & your loved ones continue to be safe and healthy!
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