Helping Restaurants and Foodservice

Restaurants and foodservice make up a significant portion of any community’s economy. They’re not only places where families can enjoy solid meals any time of day but they’re also places for personal and social networking, entertainment and relaxation. And last but not least, they’re places of employment and personal development. Just imagine how many CEOs of any industry began as burger flippers, wait staffers, busboys or dishwashers.

Restaurants – the epitome of small businesses – are a vital American economic mainstay.

There are more than 19,000 restaurants in the Garden State, with 348,000-plus jobs and $18.1 billion in sales. It’s not as glamorous as the media pretends. It’s a tough job with long hours that requires dedication to excellence, safety and consumer satisfaction. It’s been said that if you want to make a little money in the restaurant business, invest a lot of money in it. No kidding.

Restaurants in the state and around the country are suffering right now because of covid-19 and many of them are closing their doors temporarily – as the famous Grand Central Oyster Bar – or forever – as the Friendly’s chain announced on Monday. Indeed, 39 popular New Jersey restaurants have closed forever while IHOP announced it will soon close 100 locations due to coronavirus. While foodservice depends on the man, woman and family on the street for business, the industry also has stepped up to the plate to help itself with a variety of in-store promotions meant to attract patrons.

The industry has also taken its case to Capitol Hill.

The International Foodservice Distributors Association, the trade organization of wholesale companies coast-to-coast that deliver food and non-food products and offer consultative services to foodservice operators, has appealed to Congress to help the industry as it deals with covid-19 while struggling to keep its doors open.

The association thanked Chairwoman Nydia Velazquez (D-NY), Ranking Member Steve Chabot (R-OH) and the House Committee on Small Business for holding a hearing on the impact of covid-19 on small businesses in the food industry.

According to IFDA, the foodservice industry has been particularly hard hit due to government closures and occupancy restrictions and urgently needs congressional action to provide economic relief. “The foodservice distribution industry was pleased with many of the provisions included in the recent House proposal. In particular, the provision for a second round of Paycheck Protection Program loans and the inclusion of payments for inventory, raw materials or supplies as allowable and forgivable expenses. In addition, the bill would establish a $120 billion grant program for restaurants, bars and food trucks. While this is a great first step, IFDA urges that eligibility be expanded to cover independently owned franchise restaurants as well as small regional chains,” its statement read.

Mark S. Allen, president and CEO of IFDA, offered the following observation ahead of the congressional committee hearing:
“As these witnesses attest, this crisis has been devastating to the foodservice industry. Congress must help small businesses that are the backbone of our country and food supply chain. We support these companies and ask Congress and the Administration to continue in their negotiations on another covid-19 relief bill. In particular, we are happy to see the recent House bill includes PPP and direct aid to restaurants who have been among the hardest hit industries. Unfortunately, the House proposal denies federal support for small regional chain restaurants, as well as individual owners of small franchise restaurants. Even more restaurants and jobs will be saved if the House adopts the Senate version of the RESTAURANTS Act. Led by Sens. Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), it takes a balanced approach to providing federal support to all restaurants that are suffering. IFDA implores Congress to support our nation’s restaurants and their partners, like foodservice distributors, who deliver the food and supplies to keep professional kitchens cooking.”

It would be beneficial if foodservice operators and restaurateurs – and patrons – contact their elected officials regarding this great need.
IFDA warned its members’ customers that due to the pandemic the outlook is bleak:

• Leading indicators suggest US Industrial Production business cycle decline will extend into early 2021. • However, COVID-19 case spikes and renewed shutdowns could extend that outlook further.

• Business owners should ask themselves: what can I do now to be ready for recovery next year?

• Foodservice sales annual growth rate is down -9.2% in June, and expected to be down -19.3% for 2020, placing the industry in a recession phase.

• Grocery store sales are seeing accelerating growth, expecting to grow 12.7% this year

The National Restaurant Association also took their members’ case to officialdom by joining with members from the U.S. Conference of Mayors to talk about finding ways to help restaurants stay in business as covid-19 continues to ravage the small business landscape.

As the pandemic does an about face with another surge this fall, restaurant owners and operators have to be well versed in the latest safety requirements and advice in order to assure their clients that the environment in which they offer food and the food itself is safe as well as to nutritious. Restaurateurs have to be clever and nimble to remain in business.

“It’s been an incredibly hard time, no one’s seen this challenge before,” the association’s Mike Whatley observed in news media. “You are seeing a lot of creativity amongst operators.”

For example, a restaurant in Queens, NY, solved two problems for the busy professional – where to work and where to eat. The operator offered business people the opportunity to use its Queensboro restaurant on Northern Boulevard in Jackson Heights to satisfy both needs. For an extra fee in addition to food, the patrons were given a venue with WiFi where they could work and a meal. Reservations required and social distancing enforced.

Another idea along these lines, though slightly more daring, would be to promote your restaurant as a meeting venue or classroom for adults. By assigning specific hours and designating a safe, functional environment, the operator can be assured of at least some regular even repeat business now that the restaurants that have survived have been allowed to open.

In Miami, one restaurant found salvation in alternating its menu selections quicker than feasible. Picture Laotian, then Italian, then French, then whoever rents the kitchen. French-Persian restaurant Fooq’s rents its kitchen to chefs and operators to keep the premises open and apparently it’s worked.

In the City of Brotherly Love, restaurateurs pooled their creativity and perhaps desperation by joining forces to launch “Save Philly Restaurants,” a collaboration that called on local officials to implement industry-friendly initiatives such as street closures to accommodate outdoor dining. One result of that effort was the loosening of restrictions on alcohol sales, which allowed one operator to sell cocktails-to-go – a hit with local customers. Restaurants also rapidly built up their online infrastructure to take delivery orders, which were nonexistent before the pandemic.

With homeschooling and homeworking on the rise, you’d think that coffee consumption has changed. It did but not down. Americans are drinking just as much coffee during the pandemic, as often as before, but at home instead of in coffee shops and restaurants. Online purchases have jumped by 57% as coffee buyers cut back on trips to the supermarket, according to the survey commissioned by the National Coffee Association (NCA). Consumer habits for the period in August 26 to September 3 were similar to those in a January poll, with six in 10 people drinking coffee every day, at an average of 2.9 cups per day. “App-based ordering, including delivery, rocketed up 63% amongst those who drank coffee in the last week. Drive through ordering increased 13% amongst those who drank coffee each day,” the NCA reported.

Consequently, restaurants should note that app-based ordering with delivery may also reap the benefits of this dynamic technology. Actually, technology is a major contributor to a foodservice operations’ survival.

As an added attention grabber, operators should continue promoting popular consumer-driven buzzwords such as organic, healthy and sustainable and add visible notices and requirements about masks, social distancing and safety. Savvy owners should publicize their cleaning and disinfecting strategy thereby reassuring customers that their safety in the restaurant is paramount.

The National Restaurant Association recently published a covid-19 brochure titled Safe Operating Guidance that can be downloaded for free: https://restaurant.org/articles/news/download-latest-covid-19-safe-operating-guidance.

On the down side, as operators are well aware, even though they’re allowed to open their doors, their biggest challenge is that their businesses are designed to run at their fullest capacity. Permission to open with 50% capacity limits, 25% limits doesn’t work. It won’t matter how much takeout or outdoor seating they do; they’re still losing money. The question is how much business can you do to get by?

With federal, state and local funds available, some mayors recommend that every effort should be made to streamline the application process for any grants that are offered to already stressed-out restaurateurs. The sooner they get funding, the sooner they’ll return to business and pump money into the economy.

In New Jersey, useful information and consultation can be acquired for free from the New Jersey Small Business Development Centers (https://njsbdc.com/). Additionally, operators can visit this site for information: https://faq.business.nj.gov/en/articles/4299457-what-is-the-njeda-e-commerce-technical-assistance-program-and-is-my-business-eligible. There operators can find information about the federal Paycheck Protection Program that has helped many of them bring back many workers.

On a similar note that restaurateurs should be aware of, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is planning to develop a new food safety strategy in reply to coronavirus, sustainability and other concerns. In a rationale for the strategy, it was noted how changes in food systems require a need to rethink the place of food safety in sustainable development: “The relevance of food safety to society, economic development, and sustainable food systems need to be better understood and promoted. A new food safety strategy should further address One Health issues, such as antimicrobial resistance, emerging zoonotic diseases, climate change, agricultural intensification, new technologies, innovation, food fraud, digitalization of food systems, and circular economies. The covid-19 pandemic also demonstrates the increased relevance of food safety in emergency food assistance and humanitarian food aid.”

Experts, scientists and doctors are foreseeing the pandemic chaining America and the world for many more months. Consequently, be prepared for some communities and states to mandate longer or shorter painful lockdowns.

In today’s business climate, book and school knowledge is helpful as at all times. However, contemporary successful business owners and entrepreneurs must also develop a high degree of creativity, flexibility, courage and speed. Foodservice operators must transform themselves into chameleons by adopting and adapting quickly to new situations and trends in order to survive and thrive.

Operators should consider their capacity needs for 2021 based not only on what the consultants are forecasting but also on what they’re seeing on their streets. Take advantage of low interest rates to invest in the equipment and technology necessary to accommodate future growth.

Restaurateurs should utilize any downtime afforded by lower economic activity to train and prepare themselves and their kitchen and front-of-the-house staffs for upcoming trends as well as implement technological improvements to ensure they are competitive on quality and price.

The restaurant business is about people not only food. Patrons are neighbors who return for good food, ambiance, talk and networking. Like the lyrics to “Cheers”: Sometimes you wanna go; Where everybody knows your name; And they’re always glad you came; You wanna be where you can see; Our troubles are all the same; You wanna be where everybody knows your name.

For example, Rudy’s on Anderson Avenue in Cliffside Park, NJ, is regularly packed with locals in the middle of the day. Owner Tommy Sudano knows how to keep his patrons well fed and happy. There are countless Rudy’s across the state and country. Loyalty and patronage are as a valuable as cash and must be rewarded.

Engaging with loyal customers amid the pandemic is great way owners can drive business and remain viable. Build an archive of emails and phone numbers from takeout and delivery orders to reconnect with patrons and keep them updated on restaurant specials and promotions to help drive more business. Most importantly, communicate regularly with them on the safety precautions the restaurant is taking to keep diners safe. This will ultimately increase patron confidence in dining-in or ordering takeout, helping to boost repeat customers and sales.

Promote your restaurant, safety requisites and concern for patrons and they’ll be back.