(Note: After posting, I realized I wasn’t clear that this story does not address carry out food. Obviously, all restaurants should explore maximizing their take-out options. This piece only speaks on the new dine-in restrictions. - CG)
Restaurants and bars in Ohio will soon be re-opening but.….with just half the tables and bar-stools available to patrons than before the covid shutdown. Even in the best of times, keeping a restaurant afloat was a coin-flip. How can they survive with this as the model for the foreseeable future? As a person who owns a coffee shop and has spent a lifetime working in the service industry, (when not playing music) I have a couple of thoughts on how some establishments can adapt and hopefully succeed.
In this new world, dine-in customers are no longer primarily paying for product and service. It is still part of the equation, but much less than before. No, what customers are paying for now is space. Or more specifically, paying for a space that isn’t their own kitchen table. Space to be out and around other people. The days of going out to dinner and nibbling at a salad are over. You cannot take space unless you are spending money. That isn’t fair to the business or the other patrons who may want your spot and are willing to spend. As I said in the title, use it or lose it.
Moving forward with this in mind, fixed menus are a great idea. This kills two birds with one stone. One, it allows the kitchen to stock with less ingredients, less labor and deliver a better product. Sure, there will be fewer choices on the menu, but that is an impractical luxury that currently cannot be afforded. And to be honest, most people can’t be trusted to order what is best anyway. The more one modifies an order, the worse it gets. A limited weekly offering of appetizers, salads, entrees and dessert will give most people what they want and hopefully provide an even better culinary experience than before the lock-down. Sure, some folks will complain, but they have the option to stay home and cook for themselves.
Another reason for a fixed menu is the restaurant can count on a certain level of income from each customer. Suppose, for $25 you get a choice of a salad, an entree and either a drink, appetizer or dessert. The number is fixed along with the items on the menu. You can always spend more, but $25 is the floor. But say you just want a diet coke and a salad? Sure, no problem. It’s still $25.
“I’d like a cup of soup with extra crackers and some water with light ice in a clean glass?” “Lovely, excellent selection sir, twenty five dollars please”
In addition to fixed menus, reservations will be limited to a 75-minute window. Or whatever. With restaurants at half capacity, tables need to be turned in order to keep the system working. Obviously this a flexible, case by case policy, but in general, reservations are the new model. Restaurants can’t afford to have extra staff standing around “hoping” people will just show up. Or waiting for campers to leave so they can clean up and go. As much as possible, they need to know who is coming and when. This should make for better and more efficient service too. Win - win.
Drinking establishments will probably have to adopt some of these same principles to survive. Spots at the bar can be reserved in advance and there will be a drink minimum in place. It’s kind of fun if you think about it. Say you and some friends want to go to Little Rock Bar for some drinks. Owner Quinn Fallon says he has 6 spots available from 6-8 pm. The bar minimum is $20. At 8 pm, the bar turns over and new folks come in for the 8-10 pm slot.
Come 8 pm, you don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay at Little Rock. In theory, groups could bar-hop from place to place with reservations at different watering holes. Obviously, walk-ins are welcome unless a bar is at capacity with reservations. Same goes for restaurants.
Or put it this way: No more sitting on a bar-stool nursing a Natural Light for three hours talking the cute bartender’s ear off. Those days are over. Use it or lose it.
Or put another way, bars can no longer subsidize people’s loneliness. Human contact just got more expensive. I know that is going to be a tough pill for some folks to swallow, but beer-to-go is still cheap and Zoom is free.
And finally, this should go without saying but... TIP GENEROUSLY if you can. These workers are serving half the customers they used to. It’s inevitable that even the folks lucky enough to still have jobs will see a decrease of income. A little extra appreciation adds up quickly.
Anyway, just my two cents. One of the pros/cons of working at a coffee shop is plenty of time to think and an endless supply of caffeine fuel the thoughts.
Colin Gawel founded Pencilstorm and wrote this at Colin’s Coffee which was named Upper Arlington Business of the year in 2018. He also plays music both solo and in the band Watershed.