With the reopening of restaurant dining rooms ongoing across America, there has been much discussion about the precautions that such moves entail. Equally important, however, is how customers react to on-site dining during a pandemic, with that response just as critical to future restaurant success as masks and gloves will be.
The popularity of curbside, delivery, and takeout is an indication that not everyone has suddenly become an at-home Julia Child or Guy Fiera. There clearly remains a large part of the population that either can’t, or just isn’t motivated to, cook.
Admittedly, a combination of cabin fever and curiosity is likely to at first fill restaurant seats as they once again become available. The great unknown is whether or not the market for dine-in will be sustained at close to pre-pandemic levels once those re-openings have occurred.
Dataessential, a firm that does research in the food industry, is bullish on the viability of reopened dining rooms. In research the firm completed in late April, “dining in my favorite sit-down restaurant” was the number one activity survey respondents reported as that which they looked forward to once stay-at-home orders were lifted.
However, the same research discovered considerable mistrust and caution in the mind of consumers, with 72% percent of those queried “not trusting others to act responsibly” once lockdowns were lifted.
Embedded in this (and other) speculative consumer research is a troubling set of contradictions.
Consumers are eager for life to return to “normal,” and being able to go out for a meal is an important part of the normalcy they crave. Yet a return to pre-pandemic restaurant visit frequency faces some significant headwinds. For many, household finances have become problematic thanks to layoffs and loss of income, and future restaurant prices are likely to be significantly higher than pre-CO-VID.
Recent research data additionally indicates that, for those who do anticipate visiting restaurants, drive-thru and curbside pickup are overwhelmingly believed to be the safest options available to them.
The actual dining room experience post-lockdown is also unlikely to fully satisfy customer cravings for normalcy. Fever checks before being seated, limits on party sizes, servers in gloves and masks, and socially distanced seating may do little to instill in diners a sense that all is right with the world.
One of the options that Steaming Tender Restaurant in Palmer is making available as part of its recently introduced curbside pickup service is the operation’s Signature Whiskey Bread Pudding.
Offered in a “cook at home” version, the bread pudding comes in full-sized and half-sized editions, with the half pan serving eight and the full size described as enough for 12.
Advance orders are required, and they can be made by calling Steaming Tender at (413) 283-2744.
The Tavern Restaurant in downtown Westfield is offering nightly Family Dinner specials.
Typical selections include Bourbon-brown sugar glazed grilled chicken, shrimp and scrod francaise, tenderloin tips Marsala, and chicken and sweet sausage cacciatore. Specials change nightly and are sized to accommodate from four to six, depending on the appetites involved.
Desserts are available as well, with options ranging from lemon meringue and chocolate cream pies to tapioca pudding and baklava.
Both pick-up service and local delivery are available; call (413) 562-0335 for more information.
On sign of just how much the restaurant industry has changed over the past few weeks was described in an open letter from Jose Cil, the CEO of Restaurant Brands International, Inc (RBI).
In preparation for fully relaunching the three concepts in RBI’s portfolio, Cil revealed that the company is evaluating reusable mask designs that are AN integral part of the standard uniform at RBI outlets, which include Burger King restaurants.
Burger King is also working to improve its drive-thru and curbside pick-up options as well as reconfiguring its dining room layouts.
The other giant in the fast food burger world, McDonald’s Corp., is trying to develop a menu strategy for going forward.
When the pandemic-driven shutdown began, McDonald’s switched its operations to a limited menu and discontinued all-day breakfast. Now, with at least partial reopening possible, the fast food giant is contemplating gradual, “staged” re-introduction of its pre-March bill of fare, with the actual menu lineup decisions made on an individual market area basis.
Of particular concern to McDonald’s management is rebuilding the chain’s breakfast business, a daypart that has been disproportionately impacted by stay-at-home orders and the successful rollout of a breakfast menu by Wendy’s.
The Wendy’s Company recently reported that its breakfast menu, which was launched in early March, now represents 8% of that chain’s total sales, a level the brand had not expected to reach before the end of 2020.
Though the establishment’s waterside ambiance can’t be enjoyed on a take home basis, Russo’s Lakeside Seafood and Steakhouse in Palmer is putting up its regular menu for takeout.
Russo’s, which is located on Forest Lake, also prepares “Family Style Meals.” Sized to serve up to five, the choices include the likes of a beef taco kit; a 15-piece fried chicken dinner that includes mashed potatoes, mac ‘n’ cheese, baked beans, and more; and a fish & chips family pack.
Group-friendly dessert selections like apple or blueberry crisp, a Boston Cream cake, and cannoli are available as well.
Russo’s is currently opening nightly at 4 p.m. with daytime hours Thursday through Sunday.
Orders can be called in to (413) 289-2360.
GianniFig’s Ristorante in South Deerfield has remained open during the “stay-at-home” order, offering takeout and local delivery service nightly, Tuesday through Sunday.
On Wednesday evenings GianniFig’s has been promoting a “Wine and Dine” for couples package. It includes a shared appetizer, salad or soup for two, any dinner on the menu for both, and a shared dessert.
A selected bottle of wine is also factored into the $70 package price.
The restaurant answers at (413) 350-5940.
Preparing three family meal packages daily, Leone’s Restaurant in Springfield also makes most of its regular menu available for curbside pickup or local delivery.
The family meal options are chicken francaise, chicken parmesan, and eggplant parmesan, with each family meal designed to serve from four to six. Salad, bread, homemade dressing, and dipping oil are included, and the core “family meal” selections are typically supplemented by a daily special or two.
Two homemade dessert options – currently tiramisu and berry peach crisp — can be requested to enhance a family dinner drive-by.
Leone’s, which is located in the Tri-Town Plaza off Cooley Street, answers at (413) 783-4363.
“Kits,” to-go food packages with some assembly required, have proven to be an interesting variation on the take-out culture that’s evolved over the past two months.
Dunkin’, the coffee shop giant, has introduced a DIY Donut Kit that features plain donuts along with frostings and sprinkles for home decorating. The kit is available from participating locations in four- and nine-donut versions.
Taco Bell is promoting an “At Home Taco Bar,” a “serves-six” pick-up package that includes flour tortillas, taco shells, nacho chips, seasoned beef, queso and condiments.
DIY Sundae Kits are available at some Baskin-Robbins locations. In addition to two quarts of ice cream, the kits include a sauce such as butterscotch or hot fudge, sprinkle-on toppings, and an aerosol can of whipped cream.
Hugh Robert is a faculty member in Holyoke Community College’s hospitality and culinary arts program and has nearly 45 years of restaurant and educational experience. Robert can be reached on-line at [email protected].
