March/April (Revised)

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For example, the dispensers of proprietary Captain Sorensen’s Datil Sauce, had to be removed (restaurants switched to take-away cups) and the franchisor identified suppliers for Plexiglas for franchisees to purchase and sent them digital files of signage and stickers to print and save on shipping. The company really had two missions for Canada, where it operates 41 restaurants: to let people know they were open and to reassure them they could take care of their offpremise dining needs. “Our franchisees did a superb job in Canada, adds Fox. We have an excellent reputation for the level of food quality, customer service.” The company also quickly introduced curbside service alongside various other franchisee-led innovation, including “pop-up drive-thrus,” where interior restaurants erected parking-lot tents with mobile-payment systems and food runners. In some cases, stores also sold grocery-type items on that pavement. “We quickly enabled it for operators to sell bread, bulk deli meat, anything they had in the restaurant, which, prior to the pandemic we would never have done,” says Fox. “At the heart of it was embracing creativity, allowing flexibility.” THE ART OF INNOVATION Innovation has also saved the day at Gabby’s. Todd Sherman, president of Urban Dining Group, which operates District Eatery and Hey Lucy! in addition to its 17 (soon to be 19) Gabby’s restaurants, just signed a new lease on a 6,400-sq.-ft. former restaurant in Mississauga, Ont., and will build two unique concepts — a Gabby’s pub and a Thai restaurant — inside the space. They’ll share a corridor, bathrooms, a POS system, service contracts, a purchaser and some management. Tucked in the middle of the dining-room is a granite handwashing station, freeing guests from having to visit the washroom to wash up. “We feel this is a post-COVID feature that’ll stick around,” says Sherman. This new design also features a full-blown liquor store at the front door, whose reach-in refrigerator is stocked with all the wine, liquor and cold beer both concepts sell to spare customers an after-dinner trip to the LCBO. “This is a huge consumer convenience and an opportunity to increase sales.” Gabby’s also stopped collecting franchise royalties and ad-fund submissions from its franchisees last <strong>March</strong> and helped its franchisees with graphic and communication support, including floor stickers, sidewalk decals, frontof-house foam-core boards to communicate COVID-19 protocols to guests and a COVID- 19 task list for guests and operators to follow. Those of Gabby’s 16 sites that were closest to downtown cores have fared the worst in the pandemic, but the more suburban stores have done well. All told, Urban Dining Group has lost about $10 million in sales to COVID-19 but, says Sherman, “we’ve found ways to adapt to new opportunities that we feel will make us stronger as we move forward.” With eyes on distressed locations with reduced rents that might be viable for his new dual concept, the leader of this 32-year-old family-run business, whose stores are primarily in the GTA, is hopeful. But he acknowledges the pandemic has impacted the interest level of would-be franchisees, killing the interest of about 10 per cent of would-be investors. In the meantime, communication has been revealed as critical to survival. From the start, Fox began communicating with his franchise community every day, a significant bump from the posts he would send out every two weeks before. He started a daily blog whose content was not only regular but regularly positive. “You think back to those early days and, from my perspective, optimism had to prevail. If we were in a situation where everybody was expecting the worst and fearing for the worst, [they’d] carry that into their restaurant every day and nothing good would come from it. Optimism has to start at the top. So, CONTINUED ON PAGE 22 ILLUSTRATION BY ELISA GARIBALDI 20 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY MARCH/APRIL 2021 FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
BREW BOLDLY NEW 2.5 oz and 9 oz Fraction Pack Formats Created for the next generation of coffee consumers, 1850 is designed to be bold, premium coffee without the burnt taste or acidity. Choose from our medium, dark, or decaf roast; each with its own unique strengths. Made with 100% Premium Arabica Beans to deliver a bold, smooth flavour every time. Fifty percent of our coffee is sourced from Rainforest Alliance Certified Farms. For more information, please contact your Smucker Away From Home Sales Representative or visit www.smuckerawayfromhome.ca FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM MARCH/APRIL 2021 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY 21 ©/® The J.M. Smucker Company and its Subsidiaries
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