Productive Restaurant Practices During COVID. Locked Down Doesn’t Mean Held Back.

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To say that we live in unprecedented and uncertain times is an understatement. The pandemic has knocked the floor out from under the restaurant industry, and its impact will likely be felt for many more months. Gloom is easy to find and feel, but it won’t help. What’s important is to see what can be done, and act. To act, you need some productive restaurant practices. 

Finding productive restaurant practices to generate business or improve procedures has short and long-term benefit. As nerve-wracking as this situation is, it also frees us from our usual routines. It opens opportunities for us to regroup and rethink our business practices in preparation for the future.

Here are some things you can do during this lockdown period to  prepare your business for reopening in the near future:

1. COVID-adaptive Productive Restaurant Practices to Retain and Grow Customer Base

Creative measures are called for in these strange times. It’s important to remember that, while everything appears to have changed, some things haven’t. People still enjoy eating food, and are ready to pay for a quality meal, no matter the procedures involved. For your own restaurant, consider some of these options:

  • drive-thru/takeout
  • delivery
  • frozen versions of your dishes
  • build your own versions of your dishes
  • sell signature ingredients: 
    • specific ratios of spices used in your dishes (kept secret, of course)
    • bottled sauces 
    • specially sourced ingredients

Though food isn’t your only recourse. As a business owner or manager, your options for pulling in business are only limited by your imagination. Here are some non-food ideas that will get people in the door now, or encourage them to come later:

  • gift cards
  • restaurant “club membership” 
    • access special seating areas
    • secret menu availability
    • reserved parking 
    • prioritized seating and service
  • rewards program 
  • referral bonuses
  • “How it’s done” videos that demonstrate cooking signature dishes in your restaurant’s kitchen. 
    • This is also a chance to show off the cleanliness of your kitchen and cooking procedures while tantalizing viewers. 

2. Stay Active on Social Media 

One of the biggest and most fatal mistakes you can make is to stay quiet. Many, if not most of your customers, are looking forward to businesses reopening as much as you are. It’s important to keep that desire burning, and social media is an effective tool to keep your brand and food seen.

Additionally, staying active on social media allows you to control the narrative surrounding your business. This gives your business a voice above the statistics. 

3. Reevaluate Materials and Processes in the Kitchen and Dining Room.

With fewer seating and more restrictions, it’s important to ask: what can you let go of? What do you need to invest in to adapt to the “new normal”? Which things you can cut back on may vary depending on your operations, but there are non-negotiables under the new circumstances that deserve your focus.

Foremost of these are your hygiene and facility maintenance service items. These include hand soaps, mops, disinfectants, protective equipment (i.e. gloves, masks), and barriers. You should also reevaluate your linen and uniform service potential in preparation for the lockdown’s end.

Reassessing Your Restaurant’s Linen Situation

How you go about your restaurant’s linens upon reopening is crucial. The CDC has declared linens and table napkins safe with proper usage. As a result, you’ll want to stay on top of your linen supply and maintenance to keep up with their cleanliness demands.  and the more severe guidelines required for linen maintenance.

You will need better, more dependable help for your linens’ upkeep – and that’s where you can find a friend in Republic Master Chefs.

Our TRSA certified, Hygienically Clean laundry service will make sure that you comply with the linen requirements set by the CDC without giving up time or energy to their upkeep. That way, you can focus on keeping your business strong in any circumstance.

Republic Master Chefs is Here to Help!

Let’s talk about your linens today! Contact us at (800) 640-2433 to discuss better and safer linen care options for your business.