Impact Of COVID-19 On Restaurants

Impact Of COVID-19 On Restaurants

Hombaze
Hombaze Restaurant Sandton Johannesburg

With COVID-19 having altered – and still in the process of altering – the definition of “normal” across the world. Most industries are still scrambling to adjust. Sabusinesses.co.za did a survey and discovered the effect on the restaurant industry in Johannesburg has been particularly dramatic. With many restaurants and pubs closed for sit-down service, many establishments are struggling to keep their heads above water. On the other hand, there are places that are able to offer delivery and pick-up options.  Such restaurants are Cut and Craft, Mals Kitchen, Nasies Kitchen, Berry Foods, Hombaze are seeing large increases in order volumes.

Mal’s Kitchen Observatory Johannesburg

CLOSER TO HOME

Restaurant foot traffic and online reservations may have dropped to zero, but in the Johannesburg online orders for pickup and delivery are booming. This was a steady increases over the past 3 months. In particular for casual dining and quick-serve or fast food restaurants, where site visits and purchases have been increasing. As orders have increased, the share of carry-out versus delivery has remained fairly consistent. This is even though people are traveling shorter distances to visit restaurants to pick up these orders.

The Rusty Lady Kensington Johannesburg

Long Term

Perhaps the biggest long-term change prompted by the Coronavirus pandemic is the shift from on-premise to off-premise dining. That is not to say in the future, people won’t be dining out anymore. They will be relying much more on delivery and takeout than before. That’s because once restaurants invest in this technology, they won’t (and shouldn’t) simply let it go once the pandemic is over.

Similarly, people will also get used to ordering food online or picking it up at the restaurant to enjoy at home with their family. It is precisely this demand that restauranteurs should respond to. Most restaurants will realize (if they haven’t already) they need to have an online ordering system in place in order to survive. They will ultimately benefits both them and their customers.

Big Restaurants

Unfortunately, according to experts, more than half of the restaurants in business today won’t survive this crisis. While that is a terrifying statistic in itself. What’s even more terrifying for small business owners is that mom and pop restaurants don’t have the same chances of surviving as large restaurant chains do.

Not only are big chains already recovering faster, but when faced with the question “Who might disappear in the near future. Your local McDonald’s or small family-owned Italian restaurant?”, the answer is quite clear.

This is largely due to the fact that most chains are fast-casual restaurants as opposed to full service ones. This happens to be exactly what thrives in this pandemic. When people can’t just simply sit down and enjoy a meal anymore. It also happens because large restaurants like The Rusty Lady Bistro, Signature, Granite Bar and Lounge etc are much more profitable and plan ahead. They can afford to stay in business longer for they are quick with adaptation.

Granite Bar and Lounge Johannesburg

Menus with a New View

As the restaurant industry learns to adapt and evolve. This is amidst the ripple effects that will be felt long after COVID-19 is gone. Menus will see a number of different changes. For one, shareables might be a thing of the past. Many restaurants because even if the threat of the pandemic is over, people will still be reluctant to share their food.

Secondly, family meal boxes will become more popular for takeout and delivery as they are an affordable option for people who want to eat at home with their family and taste a little bit of everything.

Restauranteurs might also start favouring smaller menus because they streamline the ordering process by making it easier for customers to decide what they want to eat. Small menus also give restaurant owners the ability to curate the menu so they use the same ingredients for multiple dishes, thus avoiding food waste and minimizing the inventory.

New Sitting Arrangements
Berry Foods Restaurant
Berry Foods Kempton Park Johannesburg

For restaurants who relied on maximizing the use of space and seating to boost profits, the health and safety regulations are a huge disadvantage. People don’t feel comfortable sitting close to others anymore, especially indoors. Social distancing has become the norm and might continue to be so for a long time, so restaurants need to maintain the minimum safety distance between tables.

This could mean the end of communal tables for people who want to grab a quick bite to eat alone and can’t find a table for just themselves. In the future, restaurants might even need to create space for a live cooking counter because customers will definitely feel safer seeing their food cooked from scratch right before their eyes.

Next, menus should also be digitalized. I’ve already seen plenty of restaurants where you can just scan a QR code at the table to access the menu, which is a safe and effective way of

Digital menus

deciding what you want to order without interacting with a waiter. Ideas that are perhaps harder to implement and more long-term include touchless elevators and a dining experience that is contactless from beginning to end.

However long it takes restauranteurs to implement these technologies, one thing is for sure, and that’s that integrating technology into restaurants will be a huge part of the future of the food service industry.

At www.sabusinesses.co.za we thrive to promote business and push leads your way.

www.sabusinesses.co.za

  • Max

    Max

    November 11, 2020

    Great article, thank you!

  • admin

    admin

    November 11, 2020

    Thank you Max

  • Theresa de Necker

    Theresa de Necker

    November 11, 2020

    Very informative and insightful blog about something that affects many people during this pandemic.

    • admin

      admin

      November 11, 2020

      Thanks Theresa. I am glad you liked it.

  • Bernard

    Bernard

    November 12, 2020

    Lovely piece of writing and with much insight. The awareness of change during this pandemic. Love it

  • Bernard

    Bernard

    November 12, 2020

    Lovely piece of information, every insightful and helping for change management and adoption during these times of covid

  • Emmah

    Emmah

    November 12, 2020

    Well written and very informative thank you very much.

  • Garikayi

    Garikayi

    November 12, 2020

    The new normal,needs such innovative ideas which will keep you relevant.

  • admin

    admin

    November 12, 2020

    Thank you Garikai and Jacob. I am happy you liked the blog

    Advie

    • Gilbert@SupremeTech

      Gilbert@SupremeTech

      November 12, 2020

      Very informative thank you a lot.

  • David

    David

    November 12, 2020

    Informative and inspirational. The future can’t be bad.

    • admin

      admin

      November 12, 2020

      Mr David, I really appreciate and yes the future cannot be bleak

  • Patience

    Patience

    November 12, 2020

    It’s true pandemic affected many businesses . Great stuff.

    • admin

      admin

      November 12, 2020

      That’s very true Patience but we have to soldier on and keep on looking for solutions

  • Collen

    Collen

    November 12, 2020

    Well research article. It highlights the impact of Covid 19 on businesses and the need to adjust to the realities of the new normal. Well done on these business tips.

  • Robert

    Robert

    November 12, 2020

    The pandemic has robbed us of the spark in eating out , a delivered pizza is never the same as the sit-in one. It is really sad that we have to get used to the so called `new normal`. Thanks for your well thought through article admin.

    • admin

      admin

      November 12, 2020

      Hard as it might be, we have to figure a way to the new norm. Thanks Robert

  • Benadette Tuso

    Benadette Tuso

    November 12, 2020

    This is very insightful. The need to adjust to new norm is necessary to strive

  • Loshia

    Loshia

    November 12, 2020

    Well presented,very inspirational.This is quite impressive.

  • Farai

    Farai

    November 12, 2020

    I have enjoyed a soulful meal at Mal’s kitchen, great to see them listed. Great article!

  • Nyawata

    Nyawata

    November 12, 2020

    Great write up quite insightful

    • admin

      admin

      November 12, 2020

      Thank you Nyawata. We appreciate

      Advie

  • Mbusiwesizwe

    Mbusiwesizwe

    November 12, 2020

    This is very true and insightful, great article!

  • Edmund

    Edmund

    November 12, 2020

    Very informative and beautifully constructed. Great article

  • Liness

    Liness

    November 12, 2020

    Very constructive and informative will visit them and try their food thank you.

  • Irish

    Irish

    November 12, 2020

    Very inspiring iam humbled…keep up the good work

  • Abraham

    Abraham

    November 12, 2020

    Very informative,, constructive,, and straight to the point!!! It seems as if restaurants are losing market share and their ability to retain customers. The after effects of the pandemic are forcing people to hold LOWER PRICES as their main source of value, rather than QUALITY and value for money, thus seeking cheaper alternatives prior to the lockdown experience. It’s up to the managers to come up with marketing plans (IMC) to reestablish their prior-lockdown customer bases and desired sales.?

  • Douglas

    Douglas

    November 13, 2020

    This is the truth about reality. Well documented. The new norm will never be normal but the future will be exciting if we become more innovative. Thank you author.

  • Mashoro

    Mashoro

    November 13, 2020

    Excellent service reservoir by all means!
    Beautiful and a must visit. Well done.

  • Dan

    Dan

    November 25, 2020

    Those who adapt will survive. Very unfortunate that the small guys who usually have more personal touch with clients cant spend more to adapt

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