May 2020

RC: We know not all food travels
well. What are your thoughts on
maintaining the integrity of the
food?
JL: Food and coffee degenerate
every second after they’re made.
You’re compromising quality,
and I [now understand] why my
grandmother would scream at
me to come downstairs when the
food was on the table, because
every minute after that, it was not
of good quality.
We work on getting orders in
[our office] all the time — from
ourselves and from our competitors
— to see how the food is
arriving. And it’s not the same as
when you get it at the counter, of
course, so we try to minimize that
as much as possible. And, as long
as the aggregators are delivering
in the timeframe and they’ve kept
it in their bags properly, that’s the
best we can possibly do.
RC: How is this crisis going to
impact your sales in 2020?
KO: Someone taught me a long
time ago, this is the kind of year
that makes next year look really
good. You know, when we’re
reporting to your board and rolling
over comps of 50 per cent,
we’re going to say we’re just great
leaders and heroes. But financially
it’s terrible on people. It’s
hard enough on myself and our
people, when arguably we still
have a sizable level of revenue
coming in. There’s been some
awesome initiatives out there, too,
so we support restaurateurs the
best way we can — by ordering
from them and lobbying the government
to help with wages and
subsidies and loans. Everyone’s
trying to do the right thing.
If anyone is fortunate enough
to be open and serving food, this
has to be considered one of the
biggest brand-building opportunities
you’ve ever faced. And,
not to feel like you’re going to
win and beat anyone, but just
as an opportunity to build trust
within your community and with
your guests. The quality [of food]
you serve, the standards of your
operation, how you’re taking care
of your people, how good the
food is — this is the focus. We’re
focused on the people still choosing
to come to us, not the people
who aren’t because if you focus
on that, it’s a sad story. But, for
restaurants like us that are open,
it’s a chance to shine and to be
better than you’ve ever been.
JL: It’s going to have an impact
financially. If we’re able to survive
and move forward…our virtual
kitchen we launched about six
months ago is really an opportunity
for us to offer the industry
some sustainability in their existing
restaurants and to distribute
our food in their areas. So that’s
one thing we’re very much concentrating
on and there’s a big
opportunity. But Ken’s absolutely
right, this is an opportunity for
companies to make a difference
out there, stay [true] to what they
stand for and have that resonate
well with the consumer. And we’ll
see where the chips land once this
is done. This isn’t going to go
away quickly.
RC: Are you happy with the
financial-aid package the
government has offered?
KO: The general answer is yes. The
government has had to respond
to different operating conditions
that are changing. I applaud
both Premier [Doug] Ford and
our Prime Minister for the daily
updates. Literally, the wage subsidy
is very good news. It does
mean you need to be working.
If you happen to be employing
people, you’d have an incentive to
employ more, but that, arguably,
means you’re open for business.
We need to hear more about what
happens when you’re fundamentally
closed and don’t have an
opportunity to keep your people
on board. This is a story that still
needs to be told.
JL: They’ve done a great job.
There’s a lot of unknowns and
they’ve really communicated well
and frequently. And they’ve made
decisions — the biggest thing is
to make the decision and then see
how it works out into the system.
RC: How can the industry work
better in tandem to get where
we need to go?
JL: People getting into the foodservice-and-hospitality
industry
should give thought to how they
can maintain the integrity of it…
Anybody that’s in this business
or who’s considering being in the
business has to look deeper into
the hospitality sector and see how
they’re going to contribute with
great integrity moving forward.
KO: The power of restaurateurs
in this country, the reputation
we have with people — this is an
opportunity for Canadians and
consumers to look at this industry
not as it’s been — as entrylevel
work. We talked earlier
about our standards; we’ve always
had amazing standards. The
standards our [employees] have
to learn and practice every single
day aren’t entirely new right
now, because they’ve been doing
it every single day before this
started. But the industry needs
to band together and support
ourselves when this is over…We
employ hundreds of thousands
of people and, as we see today, it’s
integral to making society work.
We need to come out of this
remembering that and getting the
credit for this.
RC: What advice do you have for
operators about staying strong
and getting to the next stage in
this journey?
JL: This is almost like the first
day of opening the restaurant.
You’re excited, you’re nervous and
you don’t know what’s going to
happen tomorrow. If you keep
that vision and that passion alive
— don’t quit on the industry,
don’t quit on what you believe in
─— you can really deliver to people.
Be true to the industry as a
whole and to your business; keep
the lights on and fight through
this. Because if it’s two months,
it’s really only two months. The
impact is great. Seconds will go
by and the minutes will go by and
we’ll get to the end of it.
KO: It’s about being true to
our craft. We’ve been given the
responsibility for those restaurants
that are allowed to be
open. We’re lucky to wake up
every day, looking at it as a new
level of responsibility for feeding
Canadians. People are relying
on us to help them get through
their day. People are relying on
us to treat them fairly and to
keep them safe. Every day is just
day one again, so everything
you make has to be perfect. Your
smiles are bigger, your good
mornings and goodbyes are
louder. It’s an opportunity to
build your brand. For people who
are struggling, control what you
can control. Reach out to your
partners, be honest with everyone
around you — communicate,
communicate, communicate.
Don’t hide. Face everything headon
and when we get back to normal,
because we will, this industry
will thrive once again. FH
LISTEN TO THE
ENTIRE PODCAST,
PRESENTED
BY KML
HERE
24 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY MAY 2020 FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM