20

20
HOSPITALITY
AND THE
NEW NORMAL
INDUSTRY REPORT MARCH 23, 2020
Necessity is
the mother of
invention
“You have a creative industry
facing a very unique challenge.
And that is spurring a lot of
people to come up with ideas
and approaches that they would
never otherwise consider.”
- Adam Weisblatt, co-owner of
Found Oyster and Same Same, CA
 Perhaps “social distancing” is an inaccurate term.
As we all face isolation and confinement, physical
distance is reinforcing the need for social
connectivity. People are coming together on
group chats and in virtual meetings. We are more
responsive and communicative. And we are
Seemingly overnight, the world is a different place. experiencing unparalleled empathy and intimacy –

Wait lists at restaurants and overbooked airlines have taking calls in our PJs and seeing each others’
homes and families. Creative ways to entertain are
moved to drive-through, delivery and forced being adopted, including virtual happy hours,

staycations. The hospitality industry has had to pivot cooking classes and competitions.

drastically, facing a multitude of issues. This report Hopefully, we will see a silver lining in these closer
covers emerging themes and provides ideas and connections thanks to our long-distance
relationships. In the meantime, we already miss
inspiration for our many friends, colleagues and clients getting together at our favorite places.
as we look to the future together.
To the restaurateurs and the countless people
who make up our foodservice and hospitality
businesses, SRG stands by you. We know you
and have worked with you. And we will be there
for you today and tomorrow as we navigate and
come through this together. #saverestaurants.
01 People
Employees and guests are experiencing a complete
lifestyle change. Restaurants are coming together to
connect with one another and their communities more
than before. How can brands manage the need for
physical distance and more social bonding?

“The local and national government is providing very

little guidance, so we’ve taken it into our own hands...
It’s helping to have this community unity.”
Ilma Lopez | Chaval and Piccolo (Portland, ME)
 OUR GUESTS
AND EMPLOYEES

Reassuring NOW SHORT-TERM LONG-TERM

Keep calm and Make virtual Reframe moments

and reframing carry out connections that matter
experiences. Remind guests that they can still order
delivery and takeout and enjoy a safe,
Replicate what guests crave most about
dining out with at-home options that
Optimizing guests’ path to purchase can
help identify the moments that matter most
healthy experience. Reassure people meet needs for bonding, escape and and reframe them for in- home solutions.
that restaurants have always had food- excitement, from date night deals to Curating menus for fewer, better items that
The world has changed safety procedures in place to manage virtual pizza parties. Help team members travel well or tie into at-home
dramatically, and everyone is cross-contamination, and then up the stay in touch with new and improved entertainment can also motivate diners to
ante with new “no-contact delivery” connection points like email groups and order takeout and delivery.
working with new standards of protocols and details about what you’re online meetings, and rally around causes
service. How can brands doing to ensure health and safety. like making meals for kids in need. LTOs INSPIRED BY HIT SHOWS
clearly communicate during
FLAVOR BRACKETS TO ELEVATE
this turbulent time? TAMPER-PROOF PACKAGING HAPPY HOUR HANGOUTS
FAN-FREE SPORTS EVENTS
AND SAFETY SEALS
COMMUNITY KITCHEN MEALS
RESERVATIONS TO PICKUP MEALS
CONTACT-FREE DELIVERY
Chipotle and Zoom create lunchtime
Jeni’s gives away Outlander-inspired ice
KFC moves from “Finger-Lickin’ Good” hangouts for virtual dining
cream, Claire’s Cabinet,
to “Keeping Fully Clean”
during the latest episodes
Portland, ME restaurants put together
Grub Hub distributes hand sanitizer and meals for children
Art of the Table in Seattle offers
gloves to all drivers
reservations to pickup a family meal of
simple soul food
 OUR COMMUNITY

Bringing together NOW SHORT-TERM LONG-TERM

Restaurant Get together Pay it

community. team relief to give forward
The restaurant industry is only as strong Outreach programs on a broad scale Many restaurants are stepping up as
Brands are rallying together in as the employees who inhabit it. Layoffs are underway to support communities everything seems to be shutting down.
an unprecedented fashion and and furloughs have become viral with a in need, from feeding hungry kids and Aligning giving back with your brand
moving from being competitors huge need to ensure workers are treated supporting seniors to sending meals to purpose and promise can be very
fairly during the crisis. Operators are healthcare workers on the front lines. impactful. Ask loyalists to help by buying
to collaborators. How can motivated to provide for them as much Restaurants are joining forces to help a gift card, ordering delivery and
brands reach out to those in as possible. Restaurants are finding people weather the storm. takeout, and sending a meal to a friend.
creative ways to motivate staff and
need and create partnerships retain top talent. MEAL BOXES GIFT CARD PURCHASES
with like-minded companies?
CROSS-TRAINING STAFF QUARANTINE SURVIVAL KITS #SAVERESTAURANTS

VENMO & GOFUNDME PAY OPTIONS Matador in Seattle prepares up to 75 Modern Market Eatery creates a
meal boxes at a time to feed hospital campaign to #saverestaurants by
Mei Mei Restaurant Emergency Grocery staff at Swedish Medical Center’s asking people who love to eat to order
Program offers at cost groceries for Ballard campus takeout and delivery from any
people who have challenges with food restaurant today
access. Whiskey Cake in Dallas sells Quarantine
Survival Kits (two steaks, two chickens,
Bobby Flay’s GoFundMe campaign for six burgers and more)
the “loyal, creative, hard-working
people” of his fine-dining restaurants
02 Product
As we all adjust to a new reality of dining, food must be
both portable and craveable. How can restaurants
continue to bring excitement, comfort and connectivity to
guests in their homes?

“You know what is not pre-packed? Your favorite

local restaurants' kitchen, which can safely and
rapidly create delicious food for you during this
time of social distancing.”
Anthony Pigliacampo | Modern Restaurant Concepts
 CULINARY
E X P L O R AT I O N

Dialing up the NOW SHORT-TERM LONG-TERM

Virtual DIY Kitchen Piece de

in-home Cook-a-longs Kits Resistance
excitement. There’s long been a culture of With more time on their hands, meal kits As customers continue to stock their
“imposter” foods and home chefs and other assemble-it-yourself solutions pantries full of non-perishables and
trying to recreate restaurant favorites. will keep in-home diners excited, essentials to create simple meals,
Take out the guesswork with kits and engaged, and even help them to learn deliver the only-in-restaurant flavors
Keep diners excited and virtual classes that show diners how to new chef skills. And with liquor laws they crave to perk up their pantry
engaged with the restaurant by make their favorite restaurant meals. being relaxed in some areas to enable flavors. Help with the piece de
delivery, perhaps tips on mixology, too! resistance from sauces and mains to
helping their home cooking MEAL KITS + VIRTUAL LESSON sides and sweets.
routines. With the dining room PORTALS MEAL KITS & INGREDIENT PACKS
LARGE BATCH SIGNATURE SAUCES
being closed, how do we help LIVE COOKING SHOWS & COOK-A- COCKTAIL KIT DELIVERY
guests not get stuck in a rut? LONGS DELIVER THE SIDES
PERFECT PAIRINGS – MEAL KIT +
Michelin-Starred Chef Massimo WINE/BEER ACCOMPANIMENT DON’T FORGET DESSERT
Bottura launches “Kitchen Quarantine”
Virtual Lessons Bingas Wingas in Portland, ME delivers Chick-Fil-A packages up signature
wings and beer sauces for more at-home goodness

Ninfa’s and El Tiempo Tex-Mex

restaurants in Houston, TX deliver fajitas
and margaritas
 FA M I L I A R
FOODS

Serving up NOW SHORT-TERM LONG-TERM

All-In-On Family Packs & Craveable

comfort and Comfort Classics Meal Prep Nostalgia
connectivity. Take-out and delivery menus can shift to
focus on comforting, recognizable, and
With the whole family – and possibly
extended family – under the same roof,
Help deliver the nostalgia, and the
craving for simpler times, with to-go
universally loved foods for adults and lean into large format meals and even foods or kits that get your diners digging
kids alike to share a meal and make extras for the freezer, to help with meal into their comfort classics, and save you
Hospitality and dining out is, at memories, without being too expensive planning and meal prep needs. on labor in your operation.
its heart, a way to bring people
FINE DINING SHIFTS TO FEWER AMBIENT DELIVERY & PAR-COOKED ONE-POT
together over a shared meal. In MENU OPTIONS, MORE PERFECTED MEALS FOR PREP “HAMBURGER HELPER” KITS
times of limited interaction, FAMILIAR FAVORITES
NEW BOGO: BUY ONE FOR NOW, CROCK-POT RESTAURANT
how can we lean into ways LOW COST FOODS, HIGH IMPACT GET ONE FOR FREEZER FAVORITES
that bring families and groups COMFORT – BAKED POTATO BAR;
together in the home? RICE & BEANS BUILDS PACKAGING SOLUTIONS FOR Best Bolognese Pantry Kit w/ canned
PORTIONING, STORAGE, SERVICE goods, spices, pasta; use your own
CULTURAL & FAITH-BASED protein
COMFORT – FROM KOSHER TO Tables On Kearney in Denver, CO offers
KOREAN BBQ “Family Meals to Go” Menu (for two to
six people)
New York Times Baked Potato Bar
03 Place
With social mandates affecting gathering spaces,
restaurants are temporarily handicapped by lack of a
destination. How can brands maintain a sense of place
and reimagine brand touchpoints to retain connections?

"The directive for social distancing goes against

everything the hospitality industry is about."
Adam Eskin | Dig Food Group (Boston, Philadelphia, and NYC)
 EXTERIOR
ENVIRONMENT

Maintaining NOW SHORT-TERM LONG-TERM

Drive-through Enhance exterior Meet guests

a sense of and curbside brand messaging where they are
place. QSR has instantly gained an advantage
by leveraging the regular drive-through
Even if guests can’t come inside the
dining room, experience still matters when
If they can’t come inside, go to them.
Outdoor food trucks, mobile food carts
model. Some brands have already they visit or drive by our locations to and pickup pods may be a bridge back
started to pivot to figure out their unique ensure they feel welcomed. to the dining room, once the extreme
Brand experience relies so pick-up experience. measures of social distancing subside.
much on being a destination ENHANCED SIGNAGE AND WINDOW
EXTERIOR PRE ORDER CUBBIES GRAPHICS FOOD TRUCKS AND CARTS
and a gathering place for our
guests. How can we bridge the BRANDED PARKING SPACES FOR POP UP EXTERIOR MENU BOARD POP-UP DELIVERY PODS
MOBILE ORDERING AND CAR SIDE SYSTEMS
gap during a time of social PICKUP BRING BACK THE DRIVE-IN
distancing? WALK UP ORDERING STANDS
Chili’s uses witty curbside messaging to MadTree Brewing hits the streets in
tie in the brand personality. L’art in Paris makes good use of vinyl Cincinnatti, OH with vans of cold beer
window graphics that immediately catch and hot pizza to spread cheer as people
Chipotle is adding “Chipotlanes” where the eye and bring their brand forward, self-isolate
diners can pick up mobile orders from clearly communicating they are open for
their cars. business. Minnow Technologies and Kadabra offer
branded wifi-enabled pickup pods that
can be placed anywhere, like lobbies of
apartment buildings.
 INTERIOR
EXPERIENCE

Re-imagining NOW SHORT-TERM LONG-TERM

brand Enhance mobile

apps
Reinforce brand
awareness
Repurpose the
interior experience
touchpoints. Digital applications and communications
are more important than every before,
With little access to dining rooms,
guests need more visual connections to
Although nobody knows how long
dining rooms will remain closed,
as guests connect with brands through the brand. Even basic packaging can be brands can get creative with how to
Small touches can make a big phones, tablets and computers. modified to ensure there is a strong cater to customers’ cravings.
brand message guests will remember,
impact. Every brand touchpoint ENHANCED MESSAGING AROUND and possibly re-use. ENHANCE PRE-ORDER AND GRAB
is an opportunity to connect DELIVERY, PICKUP & OTHER AND GO OFFERINGS
INITIATIVES PROMINENT ON-PACK BRANDING
with guests, and brands can get POP-UP ‘STORE WITHIN A STORE’
inventive with ways to bring the OPPORTUNITIES FOR CONSTANT NEW ‘TABLE TOUCH’ MOMENTS TO OPTIMIZE THE TAKE-OUT
dine-in experience out front. REFRESHABILITY TO DEAL WITH THAT MAKE THE AT HOME EXPERIENCE
THE RAPIDLY CHANGING REALITY. EXPERIENCE UNIQUE
REPURPOSING EQUIPMENT AND
Moe’s Southwest Grill makes it MUD uses a series of stickers that FURNITURE TO MAKE OFFERINGS
immediately clear how customers can increases their brand presence on the ACCESSIBLE
still get their meals and what other outside of their packaging and beyond.
incentives they are offering. Minh Phan transitions Porridge + Puffs
into a “collaborative provision shop”
with pop-up window featuring
packaged foods, fresh flowers, and
self-care products.
 FOODSERVICE
I N S P I R AT I O N

Responding
to the new
reality.
Consumers still want fresh,
delicious food while adhering to
stricter and constantly changing
social norms. How can the
experience be optimized to
become more customer-centric?
We are all in
this together.
And we will come
through it, together.

L E T ’ S TA L K A B O U T T H E F U T U R E
C O N TA C T U S AT 3 0 3 • 3 8 1 • 6 4 0 0
O R V I S I T U S AT W W W. S R G . C O M

STERLING-RICE GROUP
BOULDER COLORADO