There are a lot of considerations you should take into account before opening your restaurant back up in these strange times. Welfare of staff, significant changes to regulations, customers who don’t believe COVID-19 is real, and importantly, financial feasibility. We don’t really know how to help you with the guy wearing the tin foil hat that walks into your restaurant, but we think we can help you with financial feasibility.
Sit down dining isn’t enough
With 50% capacity requirements, sit down dining just doesn’t cut it. If you’re lucky enough to have outdoor dining you’re in a better position than others. With that said, you’re still at the mercy of mother nature. If your business is in a downtown area and is close to the street, reach out to the town with the participation of other restaurants and try to get access to tables on the street. Many towns are thankfully making that accommodation.
At the end of the day, these options still probably aren’t enough. So how do you boost your revenue? Add takeout to your offerings. If it's not already an option, or it's limited, hang onto your shorts, because we have some suggestions to make it a real part of your business.
Make ordering easy
Okay, so if you do online ordering, but it’s through call ins, I regret to inform you that it is no longer 1985. Millennials and Gen Z are the biggest source of online ordering revenue, and, surprise surprise, they want to order with their phone, without talking to you (sorry). Upserve, one of our Point-of-Sale Partners, is a great source of data. They reported that in February, Online Ordering represented 1.5% of total sales volume for Upserve restaurants now using our online ordering platform. By early April, Online Ordering represented 43% of total sales volume for restaurants with Online Ordering enabled. In large suburbs, online ordering has grown 3,868% since February.
With that being said, if your POS doesn’t offer online ordering, now is the time to make the switch. Systems like Square, Toast and Upserve have made massive improvements to their online ordering systems to streamline the ordering process and are at the top of the game. The less friction you cause for your customers, the more likely they are to order.
Avoid systems like UberEats and Postmates as they charge massive fees, and have a long track record of unethical business practices. Don’t believe me, search UberEats on twitter.
Make service easy
So, one of the reasons you may not have gone with takeout is because it is a logistical hurtle for your BOH team. One of the reasons it's probably been complicated is because you have had your entire menu available for takeout. Newsflash, ice cream and ceviche don’t travel well. Create a slimmed down menu of super popular items that travel well. It may only be 5 or six items, and that’s fine.
Alternatively, you could create a different style of menu that might attract certain demographics. Meals for four are very popular, as are farm boxes (they allow people to get the ingredients and prepare it themselves with directions) for families.
Make dining in safe
There’s like a million things you have to do here, so we're only going to speak to what we know. One of the trickier parts of the server’s day is payment. Consider handheld devices such as the Square Terminal which offers tableside touchfree payment rather than having to touch a person’s card or cash (ew).
At the end of the day, opening back up isn’t going to be easy, and with a second wave looming, a second shutdown is a very real possibility. With that being said, it is even more important to shore up your takeout business.