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3 Ways Restaurants Can Adapt in a Post-Coronavirus World
Running restaurants, cafes, and other establishments in the food-and-beverage industry has always been challenging. Still, the abruptness of COVID-19 forced many businesses within the landscape to stop in their tracks. Strict social distancing put a gap between hungry customers and their kitchens, so in the past few months and beyond, it’s all about finding dining-out trends that can keep the dining experience alive despite the lockdown.
While people can’t go out like they used to, businesses still have a wealth of opportunities to maintain their relationship with loyal customers, as well as ways to attract more. With that in mind, here are some ways, restaurants, bars, and everything in between can thrive in a post-pandemic future.
Tip #1: Adopt Strict Cleaning and Disinfecting Policies to Ensure it is a Safe Spot for Customers
There’s no doubt that cleanliness is a fundamental necessity in the food-and-beverage industry, but the importance of sanitation and disinfection is more crucial than ever. Finding the right cleaning solutions to kill the SARS-CoV-2 effectively takes in-depth analysis and discipline, along with knowledge on the likely areas that receive the most touch traffic.
Be sure to let customers in the loop on how restaurants take proactive measures to keep in-dining set-ups a haven, guaranteeing reliable sanitary conditions that make eateries a place for refuge and joy.
Tip #2: Improve Reservation Policies
Restaurants are experiencing more people willing to go out and adjust to the “new normal” in the outside world, but the rates of walk-ins are still significantly low. With fewer people coming in at random times of the day, it helps shift the focus to improving the restaurant’s reservation policies.
This provides flexible booking for guests, along with the opportunity to work with third-party booking channels to expand the restaurant’s reservable options. Reinventing the reservation policy can also minimize no-shows and improve the customer’s experience, be it providing incentives like a complimentary appetizer, loyalty award, and more.
Tip #3: Prepare the Staff to Respond to Sickly Customers
It’s easy to put the spotlight on customers, but the restaurant’s staff deserves equal attention and concern. Some ways restaurants can practice safety measures include providing the team with personal protective equipment (PPE).
As for the customers, there should be constant access to tissues, napkins, and a sanitizer for every guest entering the premises.
The Bottom Line: Exploring Real-World Ideas on How Restaurants can Adapt to the Ongoing Impact of the COVID-19 Outbreak
The pandemic continues to disrupt different aspects of the economy. Still, restaurants took the biggest hit as national quarantines cut off mom-and-pop diners, hole-in-the-wall cafes, upscale restaurants, and other dine-in establishments with no one to serve in a ghost town.
Fortunately, the industry is quick to get back on its feet as leaders, game-changers, and the community supports local businesses in more ways than ever. From government funding to the rise of new business models tailored to suit the post-coronavirus world, restaurants can whip up solutions that aid the restaurants’ revenue source.
How Can We Help?
Finding innovative solutions to minimize the impact of the pandemic can be tricky. Still, we can help bridge the gap by connecting restaurants to government-supported grants and opportunities in the City of Charlotte.
Add your business to our Open for the Business directory to help improve your visibility and find opportunities that are scarce during these confusing times.
We also offer valuable business tips and webinars in Charlotte, NC, where you can gain insight, connections, resources, so businesses can thrive in the post-coronavirus world in the next coming months.
