May 2020

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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
ONE TABLE ALL FORONE BY ROSANNA CAIRA Industry bands together to send strong message to government ISTOCK.COM/ KANYAKITS While Canadians have been dealing with the fall-out of the COVID-19 pandemic, several foodservice-industry stakeholders have been working tirelessly to form coalitions in an effort to galvanize the industry and send a strong and united message to government. In April, a new group called One Table came into existence by introducing a social-media awareness program, with the goal to share the stories of countless independent restaurant operators who have been impacted by the lingering COVID-19 epidemic and the business closures it’s spurred. According to Frank Hennessey, president and CEO of Recipe Unlimited and the person behind the initiative, the idea for the socialmedia campaign surfaced when he was talking to an independent-restaurateur friend who lives in Richmond, Va. “This [crisis] obviously impacts restaurants around the world,” said Hennessey during a Foodservice and Hospitality podcast. “They had done a video, and as I started talking to different independent owners, it became clear they really don’t have a voice.” As president and CEO of one of the country’s largest foodservice companies, which includes legacy brands such as Swiss Chalet, the Keg, St. Hubert, The Bier Markt, Harvey’s and others, Hennessey decided to use some of the resources at his disposal — such as a “great digital and video team” — to help create a series of videos and a campaign to give voice to how this pandemic is impacting independent restaurants. “We have all these resources and all these things we’re doing for franchisees, so why can’t we try to provide a voice for independent restaurants?” said Hennessey, adding, “candidly, I believe this is an industry that’s only as good and as strong as the independents that make up the fabric and richness of the industry.” He reached out to Alex Rechichi, president of Crave It Restaurants, which operates Via Cibo restaurant and the Burger’s Priest burger chain. “Alex knows a lot of people like Anita (Mancuso, owner of Sotto Voce), so I asked FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM MAY 2020 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY 25
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