May 2020

mal
ract with foodservice
in jurisdictions that allowed it,”
says Bruce Fox, EVP, Business
Development at Vancouver-based
Browns Restaurant Group. “The
third-party-delivery landscape
has changed rapidly in the last
few years, so we’ve been ramping
up as demand called for it. We’ve
adapted with some practical
operational solutions regarding
better containers, order-accuracy
methodology and safety/sanitation
needs, but, generally speaking,
all of this was in the pipe
before the COVID-19 crisis
hit us.”
But, for smaller, independent
operators, the struggle to find
safe and affordable alternatives
to dine-in required more creative
thinking. In Stouffville, Ont., a
rural community northeast of
Toronto with a population of a
little more than 45,000 people,
family-run restaurants outnumber
chains. Many of these
small, one-off concepts were not
equipped to pivot to a takeout
and delivery model and were
forced to close their doors while
owners tried to navigate the
world of third-party-delivery
platforms.
Main Street Bake House, a
popular community hub, built
a new e-commerce site and
transformed its neighbourhood
coffee-house concept to offer preordered
bakery-boxes that could
be picked up or delivered three
times a week.
“As a small, family business,
we’ve been hard at work reimagining
ways to continue engaging
with you,” the owners posted on
the company’s Facebook page at
the launch of the initiative.
The Smokery Kitchen + Bar,
an elevated casual-dining spot on
Stouffville’s main street, began
creating Family Meals to Go for
takeout and delivery, along with
a scaled-down version of its
seasonal menu.
And, while it may seem logical
that the millennial cohort
will be ordering most of the
takeout and delivery, Jo-Ann
McArthur, president of Torontobased
Nourish Food Marketing,
warns operators shouldn’t
discount Baby Boomers.
“That generation hasn’t adapted
to online technology the same
way, so they don’t have Uber Eats
on their phone. But [during the
crisis], you started to see their
kids, their grandkids concerned
Great
SLUG HERE
Expectations
Survey shows consumers will
expect improved restaurant
hygiene post-COVID-19
A survey conducted by GP PRO, a
provider of disposable products for
foodservice and advanced dispensing
solutions for commercial facilities,
has revealed that while consumers
were less concerned about foodservice-related
hygiene prior to the
coronavirus outbreak, the outbreak
has heightened their concern and
their concern will remain elevated
once the pandemic is over.
The proprietary survey of 468 participants
between March 20 and 23,
identified pre- and post-COVID-19
consumer attitudes and behaviours
related to hygiene within takeout,
delivery and quick-serve dining.
Some of the key findings included:
60 per cent of those surveyed
said that post-COVID-19, they will
remain more concerned about
unwrapped cutlery being unhygienic
than they were before the outbreak
59 per cent state that post-
COVID-19, they will remain more concerned
about restaurant tables being
sanitized than they were before
59 per cent state that post-
COVID-19, they will remain more concerned
about a foodservice worker
touching their beverage lid than they
were before the outbreak
57 per cent state that post-
COVID-19, they will remain more
concerned about delivery drivers
touching their food than they were
before the outbreak
56 per cent state that post-
COVID-19, they will remain more concerned
about a foodservice worker
touching their napkins than they
were before the outbreak
“These findings demonstrate a
critical need for foodservice owners
and operators to prioritize hygiene
in the post-COVID-19 world,” says
Alec Frisch, vice-president and
general manager of Foodservice with
GP PRO. “Undoubtedly, it will not be
business as usual when restaurants
re-open their doors. Those that look
at hygiene as a way to win customers
back and re-gain their loyalty
will be much more likely to succeed
long-term.”
FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
MAY 2020 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY 19