Inspiring Stories of Restaurant Resilience Amidst the Coronavirus Pandemic

It wasn’t looking good for the restaurant industry in mid-March when the White House told the American people to avoid dining in restaurants. In fact, many in the industry went so far as to say, “We’re f***ed”.

Since then, local governments have clamped down on what people can and cannot do while the coronavirus wreaks havoc around the globe. Many of these directives — no gathering in groups, standing at least six feet from one another, shelter-in-place orders — have only led to greater concerns for the current and future state of the restaurant industry.

While the CARES Act and the Restaurant Employee Relief Fund will provide some assistance to restaurant workers who’ve found themselves without a job, what about restaurants themselves?

Despite all the odds that are stacked against the industry at the moment, many restaurants are finding ways to adapt and thrive, even with all that the coronavirus has thrown at them.

The Restaurant Industry Gets Creative in the Midst of the Coronavirus

Although no one could’ve predicted a global crisis like this was heading our way in 2020, restaurants have shown amazing resilience and ingenuity in the face of all the chaos.

Here are some of the inspiring actions they’ve taken since the coronavirus took center stage in everyone’s lives:

Restaurants Become Grocers

Many restaurants have been able to stay open with a takeout and delivery only business model. That alone is a big shift for most restaurants. Menus have to change. Food preparation, plating, and packaging are definitely different. And the process of getting food into the hands of customers has evolved.

But that’s not the only alternative food service option restaurants have converted to.

Panera, for example, is one of many restaurants that has begun selling groceries. The reason for Panera’s pivot was two-fold:

• To provide customers with a service they’d benefit most from.
• To turn their sales slump around (it was down almost 50% from the same timeframe last year).

It now sells groceries like baked goods, yogurt, and fresh produce through its mobile app, website, as well as through GrubHub. Customers have the option to pick up their orders or have them delivered.

New York-based Just Salad has gone a similar route and launched a grocery service called Just Grocery which delivers orders in 90 minutes or less.

Just Grocery sells fresh produce, dairy products, breads, beverages, and even household items. It also sells salad meal kits, which is no surprise considering the company’s origins.

Founder CEO Nick Kenner explains why the company made the pivot:

“We’re launching Just Grocery to provide nutritious food options and essential household items quickly and safely. Our brand mission has always been focused on serving healthy, delicious food at an affordable price, and with Just Grocery, we’re able to do that for our loyal customers in these difficult times.”

Delivery Service Providers Step Up to Help Local Restaurants

For restaurants that already provided delivery services, the infrastructure was already in place for taking, processing, and delivering orders to in-home diners. For restaurants that had yet to utilize this increasingly popular dining solution, there’s a huge incentive to do so now.

The leading restaurant delivery service providers have stepped up and answered the call of both diners and restaurants.

Uber, for instance, is advertising the following on its Restaurant Partner page:

“In support of our restaurant community and to help keep orders coming in, we’re waiving the delivery fee for customers ordering from locally-owned independent restaurants.”

That might not seem like a big deal for restaurants, but it is if they don’t have a big brand name attached to their restaurant. It can be very difficult drumming up business when you’re a small, local-only restaurant surrounded by big chains. But this incentive for customers to “shop local” will help keep smaller restaurants going through the crisis.

DoorDash has focused its efforts on providing direct relief to its restaurant partners.

“In response to the acute financial threats that local restaurants are facing right now, we will be reducing commissions for all of our local restaurant partners by 50% on both DoorDash and Caviar.”

The company has also removed delivery fees for customers on Saturdays, which will help to promote more dining out.

GrubHub has taken a different approach than its competition. Instead of offering discounts to customers or restaurants, it’s providing restaurants with the tools they need to stay in business. For instance, it’s provided guidance on things to do to keep their online presence updated. Things like:

• Adding online ordering links to Google or social media
• Customizing their menus
• Changing their restaurant delivery and pickup hours
• Offering a curbside pickup option
• Updating delivery boundaries

It’s also empowering GrubHub customers to donate their change to restaurants.

Bars Package Up Cocktails to Go

Restaurants aren’t the only ones taking advantage of the popularity of delivery these days. Bars are, too.

Places like DVine Bar in New York, for example, have taken to packaging up and selling their cocktails alongside their food menu. Using quart containers, cocktails are mixed, packaged up, and sold for $30 (which comes to about four drinks). Customers can also buy bottles of wine to go.

By adding this delivery option to a food order, restaurants can capture more business from customers who don’t feel like making an extra trip to the liquor store.

Restaurants Are Finding Unique Ways to Put Money into Employees’ Pockets

Although the government will be providing some relief in terms of stimulus checks and unemployment payments, it may not be enough and it may not arrive in time. That’s why restaurants like Georgia-based The Sand Bar are looking for other ways to support their employees until everyone can get back on their feet again.

In the case of The Sand Bar, co-owner Jennifer Knox explains where she discovered extra cash for her employees:

“We were sitting there, doors locked, and I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, there’s money on the walls and we have time on our hands. We gotta get this money down.’”

Diners had been tacking up dollar-bills to the walls and ceiling of the establishment for 15 years. It took nearly four days to get all the money down in one piece. Once word got around to customers, they decided to chip into the pot as well.

In the end, Knox had $4,104 to give to her employees.

Restaurants Are Providing Meals to Hospital Workers

Just as the community has rallied around local restaurants because of the invaluable service they’re providing, restaurants have answered the call of hospital workers who are tired of eating vending machine snacks and drinking stale coffee.

While there are tons of restaurants getting in on meal preparation and donation for hospitals, Sauce Pizzeria has gotten their customers in on the good cause as well:

“We are delivering pizzas to local hospitals to feed the brave doctors and nurses who are working endlessly to help those that are suffering. Here’s how to help: You can add the ‘Purchase a Cheese Pie for a Hospital’ item(s) to your cart and place the order as a PICKUP (it won’t work if you set as delivery). We will take it from there! We are currently working with all of our NYC hospitals and offering them contact-free delivery. If you have a contact at a hospital or place you know that needs support please e-mail info@everyday-hospitality.com. Donations are being tallied and we are doing large drops at each hospital everyday. If you’d like to pickup and deliver the order yourself, please let us know in the notes of the order that you will be picking it up. For every pie that is purchased, we are sending one additional on us!”

Considering how vital healthcare workers are in the fight against COVID-19, it’s inspiring to see restaurants and customers alike doing what they can to bring some positivity and nourishment to their lives right now.

Restaurants Remain Resilient

The restaurants, bars, and service providers above aren’t the only ones finding ways to get through the coronavirus crisis. Drop us a comment below and share a story of your local restaurant(s) that’s found a way to successfully navigate this crisis.