Stats Of The Week
The State Of The Industry
According to a new Yelp report, permanent business closures from COVID-19 now account for 55% of all closed businesses since March 1. Restaurants are experiencing even more devastation with a 60% permanent closure rate. Restaurants account for the highest total number of business closures, surpassing retail closure rates with a total of 15,770 restaurant permanent closures. Unlike retail, restaurant closures have fluctuated from March through July based on evolving and rapid changes to mandates that have been put in place at local levels.
Barriers & Motivators Driving Consumers To Visit Restaurants
According to a survey conducted by Modern Restaurant Management and Reach3 Insights, 4 in 10 customers are uncomfortable with dining in at a restaurant because they have a lack of confidence in their local government regulations and restaurant procedures. Those surveyed say their local regulations are not sufficient enough to effectively protect people from contracting the virus. While 30% of surveyors have dined in at a restaurant since the pandemic, others have purchased items from restaurants with 61% ordering food via drive-thru and 56% ordering via food pickup. Respondents cited restaurant employees wearing face masks and adhering to social distancing guidelines as their most important safety factor. Similar safety precautions, such as self-serve kiosks and temperature checks, were deemed less critical.
What’s Trending
The NRA Fights To Keep Restaurants Open
In an effort to prevent further restaurant shutdowns, the National Restaurant Association wrote a letter to the National Governors Association and the U.S. Conference of Mayors to not reclose dining rooms that are operating within their local guidelines. Lawrence Lynch, the NRA’s senior vice president of science and industry, wrote that the restaurant industry has been diligent in its commitment to following safety protocols. The letter detailed the health and safety efforts that have been made to keep customers and employees safe during the pandemic. The purpose of the letter was to discredit inaccurate information about the role of restaurants in spreading the virus and to convince local leaders to keep restaurants open.
NY Gov. Cuomo Enforces The Law On Restaurant Violators
On Monday, NY Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that over 130 NY bars and restaurants were hit with violations by the state from Friday to Sunday. The Cuomo-controlled State Liquor Authority issued 52 violations on Friday, 53 on Saturday, and 27 on Sunday to restaurants violating social distancing and face mask rules. Over the weekend, 10 foodservice establishments had their liquor licenses suspended. Under Cuomo’s orders, if a bar or restaurant gets three violations, then the establishment will automatically have its liquor license suspended. Cuomo stated that it is a primarily NYC-based issue.
“I want establishments to know that we will continue to diligently enforce the law. That’s what this is – it’s enforcing the law,” Cuomo told reporters during a conference call as he announced the new statistics.
Papa John’s Vows To Hire 10,000 More Employees
According to a press release by Papa John’s on Monday, the company has recently hired 20,000 employees and now plans to hire an additional 10,000 team members over the next few months. This hiring announcement follows a 24% spike in same-store sales for Papa John’s in North America from May to June. Rob Lynch, Papa John’s president and CEO, said in the release that this month has marked the third consecutive month of double-digit sales growth in North America. May was the chain’s strongest month in company history with North American same-store sales rising 33.5%. Lynch said in a May earnings call with investors that roughly 10% of that increase is tied to the effects of COVID-19.
McDonald's Pauses Dining Room Reopenings
McDonald’s announced on Friday that the fast food chain is halting dining room reopenings for 30 more days following the resurgence of COVID-19 cases around the country. Additionally, they are installing divider panels and barrier solutions for the front- and back-of-house operations. Once McDonald’s dining rooms reopen on August 1, the company will require customers to wear face coverings in its U.S. restaurants. The company is citing their decision by taking guidance from the Centers of Disease Control (CDC) which states that face coverings are an effective way to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
DoorDash Creates Contactless Ordering For Pickup
Last Thursday, DoorDash, the popular third-party delivery company, launched a contactless pickup option. The function allows customers to order and pay at the restaurant by scanning a QR code. Restaurants that sign up will receive a unique QR code and signage to display at their window or at their point of sale. Customers will scan the code which will take them to the restaurant’s DoorDash pickup menu. They then order and pay through the DoorDash app and wait for their food to be prepared. This service is commission-free for restaurants and the company is waiving credit card processing fees through December 31. VP of merchant services for DoorDash, Kevin Huang, stated that this new feature was prompted by increased demand for both take out and contactless ordering during the coronavirus pandemic.
“We think perhaps safety and health will be as high on the list [of priorities] as price selection,
efficiency, or quality might be. So if you add in health and safety as another key pillar, I believe QR
code-functional contactless abilities do need to expand and grow,” Huang said to Restaurant
Business.
Bright Spots In A COVID-19 World
Local Chefs Come Together To Repay Local Nonprofit
10 Louisville chefs are teaming up to help raise funds for a local nonprofit organization that has offered critical support to independent industry workers during the COVID-19 crisis. Since March, Apron Inc. has been able to provide nearly 530 emergency grants for $500 each to assist with rent, car payments, or other bills to struggling restaurant workers. After four months, donations have dwindled and the nonprofit was unable to host their largest fundraising events due to safety concerns. To combat the loss of fundraising events, local chefs have come up with a fundraiser that allows up to 50 people to purchase a Chef in a Box for $50 each week. The boxes will include a tasting selection of the restaurant’s specialties, a favorite dish, a recipe card, a gift card or promotional t-shirts, hats, or sticker.
"Through this whole pandemic, Apron has been just amazing to the restaurant community. We laid off almost 50 employees the day after restaurants were shut down, and I bet 20% to 30% of them were able to get help from Apron. More so now than ever, Apron means a lot to me for the way they have helped my staff during such a difficult time," Josh Moore, local chef participating in the fundraiser, said to Louisville Business First.
Winery Reduces Costs To Help Restaurants
Last week, Sleight of Hand Cellars began bottling 300 cases of Lewis Vineyard Syrah and is selling each case of wine for $1 to its restaurant partners. The “Restaurant Relief” wine can be sold by the glass at restaurants and the company hopes that the money saved by purchasing each case will help alleviate funds and help restaurant owners put that money towards running their operations and keeping employees. The discounted cases will be offered to restaurant partners that carry Sleight of Hand wines in Walla Walla and Seattle. Sleight of Hand co-owners, Jerry Solomon and Trey Busch, created this project as a way to give back to restaurants during this time of extraordinary hardship.
“A large part of our success over the past 13 years is due to the exposure that our wines have received in many of the restaurants around Washington state,” Solomon and Bush stated on social media.
Quote Of Hope
“We’re all suffering. But at the end of the day, folks, what makes us strong is our belief in one another, that we will come together to help one another get back on our feet.” - Karen Washington, farmer and founder of Rise and Root Farm
