Will our habits change? Will we still go to restaurants after Coronavirus?!
With the Coronavirus forcefully entering our lives and the desire to resume our daily routines, it is natural to ask ourselves what the future of the restaurant sector will be. Will we still go out to dinner?
Starting from an interesting article published by Rakuten Ready that interviewed a sample of people asking them about the impact that Coronavirus will have on their future behaviors and restaurant outings.
We deduce that over 40% of us will change our habits due to the Coronavirus, avoiding restaurants and other crowded places, and over 30% will favor dining at home from now on.
The starting point in the future management of a restaurant
The statistics outline the somatic features of what will be one of the greatest challenges for the sector in recent centuries, but now let's roll up our sleeves and understand how to face it.
The starting point is certainly the simplest and most obvious. We must become aware of the measures that will impact the restaurant industry such as social distancing between tables, the maximum number of customers allowed and stringent hygiene standards, as underlined by Susie Fogelson, Founder/CEO , F&Co .
Until yesterday the key pillars on which we reviewed a business were mainly related to the culinary experience and the location. Tomorrow perhaps we should add a third element: the safety with which this experience is lived.
The communication of an Italian restaurant in the time of Coronavirus will certainly have to go through transmitting to its customers that the pre- COVID-19 experience will be the same as the post . The only difference will be the hygiene and health standards adopted for everyone's health. Let's consider it a plus!
Practical tips for managing a restaurant in the time of Coronavirus
Having read and reread the most recent interviews with important players in the sector, including Bo Peabody ( founder of Seated and co-owner of two international restaurant chains ), Patrick Hardy, Rolyn Stone ( founder of Zedic ), we can summarise the advice that seems most accurate and immediately achievable:
- Automate: necessary for as many operations as possible. Let's think about automatic order taking devices at the tables, perhaps with built-in chat to ask for information directly to the staff. Let's discourage cash payments by encouraging contactless via app or card.
- Sanitize: every area of your restaurant to deal with Coronavirus but especially tables and chairs at the end of each shift. Place sanitizing and disinfectant devices on every table so that customers feel safer and more protected.
- New Service Standards for Staff : define a new code of conduct and service within the restaurant, ensuring that all staff respect and enforce it. For example, always leaving guests adequate living space (read social distancing).
- A new business plan: it will be necessary to distance the tables and this will certainly mean having to manage more shifts or create new moments of consumption. So why not integrate your offer with a Sunday brunch?
- Communication: Customers want to know that they are safe and can enjoy a well-deserved moment of relaxation with their partner or family without any worries.
Interior design in the future of catering
It is natural to ask ourselves this question when it comes to our work, but in reality we are touching on a much more important point than one might imagine.
It will be essential to review the management of your spaces to remain profitable in the business in the coming months and perhaps years.
At Restylit we have seen an increase in requests for intervention from Italian and European restaurants since the beginning of the Coronavirus emergency.
Many ask us for help in renovating their premises by expanding the spaces or creating new ones to avoid the loss of seats. But above all, going towards the beautiful season, it will be essential to furnish the outdoor spaces , those spaces where customers can feel safe.
But be careful, these spaces must not be neglected or furnished roughly, but must represent the soul of the location as much as the historic interiors. This is why our role becomes fundamental !
In addition to our commitment to online design , we are studying some subsidiary services to support our customers in managing their restaurant in the time of Coronavirus.
In particular, we are talking about a new ad hoc business plan that includes: correct table rotation, optimization of consumption opportunities, entry into the world of home deliveries, adequate marketing communication.
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