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Reopening the Right Way
CSSI Staff Post - May 7, 2020
Trust will be the name of the game as restaurants reopen and patrons return. A theatre of sanitation and safety will need to take place, far beyond masks, gloves and hand sanitizer. This will change the way we order, the way that we pay and the way that diners regard restaurants in general.
When will an operator know if it’s the right time to reopen?
There is no easy answer for this. Some restaurants—particularly those that have drive-thrus or are doing primarily carryout/delivery business—won’t be heavily affected, if they ever were. On the other hand, fine dining restaurants will require significant capital in order to hire back their larger staffs and restock food and supplies, which are often comprised of luxury/expensive items.
As restaurants are very much a cash in, cash out business, I believe the best advice is to open up slowly, perhaps with a limited menu, until operators feel confident that they can sustain the proper money flow to scale back up.
What are your top 3 considerations for operators as they reopen?
- Focus on creating an inviting but safe, secure environment with plenty of space for patrons. Consumers want to support their favorite restaurants, but they need assurances that they’re being taken care of more than ever.
- It’s okay not to fully reopen all at once. Limit hours or days of service, trim back your menu to streamline purchasing and operate with limited staff.
- If you aren’t doing so already, put some serious thought and effort into carryout and/or delivery. Again, patrons want to return to restaurants but likely won’t be doing so with the same frequency as before. Give those patrons another outlet by which to return to you.
What resources are available to operators during this time?
As we’ve been saying from the start of all of this, we are all in this together. That means that restaurants’ food and beverage vendors, manufacturer partners, etc. are all depending on a return to normal, too. Now is the time to negotiate terms, pricing, delivery minimums, etc., in order to assure everyone’s survival and success through these trying times.
Additionally, many of these suppliers and producers offer value-added services like market trends information as well as POS-system, culinary and menu consultations. There is no time like the present to reach out to them to see what they can offer up from their wells of valuable resources.
Peter Thornhill
Associate Director, Culinary R&D
March 1st, 2023 We’re thrilled to introduce the newest addition to our culinary family: Chef Steve Madonna. Formally trained in both Italy and the United States, as well as having worked for Wolfgang Puck, Chef Steve brings an extensive set of connections and culinary knowledge to our already stacked chef roster. Featured in this month’s issue is one of Chef Steve’s favorite recipes for making memories at home with your loved ones.
October 19, 2022 Pumpkin pie is a nostalgic menu item and my personal favorite when it comes to fall and winter menus, as it goes hand in hand with a traditional Thanksgiving or Christmas feast. We elevate the nostalgia by turning this must-have holiday dish into a clarified cocktail that leaves your taste buds as curious as your eyes. We get adventurous as we replace expected visual elements with an ice-cold glass of clarified liquors infused with pumpkin pie. This cocktail defies all visual expectations, while leaving your sense of smell and taste immersed in a seasonally nostalgic experience.
October 19, 2022 Canada is well known for many things. Hockey, snow, maple syrup, and a few other stereotypical but somewhat accurate concepts may immediately come to mind. What you may not know, though, is how invested we are in the snacks that we consume. Compared to the U.S., sure, we are no match for the quantity and variety offered in the land of the free, home of the snacks. However, what we know in our hearts is that Canada has a long-standing, tried-and-true, flawed, yet beloved top-notch snack game. I’m talking about comfort foods that have become so integrated and so established that they are classified as cult-favourites—and no, I did not spell favourites incorrectly. You are about to see a lot more of the letter “U” in this article. Sorry! The great Canadian snack game is easy enough to understand. You think of a flavour and either slap it on a potato or pair it with chocolate. Snacking has always been a huge part of Canadian food culture, but it is only going up from here. To put it lightly, the past few years have been tough on everyone around the world, and Canadians have chosen to increase their spending on snacks by 67% as an indulgence or, personally, as a coping mechanism. In no way, shape, or form am I claiming to be a culinary expert somehow employed in the field of Finance, but I have eaten a lot in my life and right now, I’m the best and/or only Canadian guide you’ve got. Let’s get into the details:
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