The Coronavirus pandemic has changed the DNA of a lot of industries and food and beverages industry is no exception. With lockdown restrictions easing out to some extent, we all are eager to know how our favourite restaurants will change post-lockdown, amidst a common belief that restaurants have lost their appeal out of sudden. With the COVID pandemic altering the whole restaurant experience, the end of lockdown will present to us a ‘New Normal’ and eating out may not be exactly same as what it was before COVID-19 pandemic. Let us imagine and contemplate how the future of restaurants and your favourite food joints will look like in the wake of frightening pandemic which has changed the entire dynamics of how we eat out and socialise.
It is also important to note that the consumers are facing dire economic crisis due to global fall of economies, pay cuts, unemployment and job losses due to COVID-19 are attuned to cooking at home during the lockdown and such behaviour may persist even longer than what we may anticipate. The future of restaurants therefore, seems little sketchy in the start, but the entire restaurant industry may undergo transformation, evolve and ultimately address all the challenges posed by corona virus in the end with the help of technology which will play a crucial role in the overall eating out experience.
Also Read: A Sneak Peek into how the Future Workplace Post Lockdown will look like!
Let us anticipate the future of restaurants and how will be your eating out experience in the ‘new normal’:
Minimal Human Contact, Hygiene Privacy and New Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) is the future of restaurants
With focus on Minimal Human Contact and Hygiene Privacy for both staff and guests, the future restaurants will chart or are in process of charting New Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to keep the threat posed by virus at bay.
Meal Pre booking
Before your decide to dine in at your favourite food joint, you may well have to open an App or book Online which gives you option to pre book your meal, which will be already placed at your table a minute in advance of your arrival for contactless experience.
In Car Dining, Self-Pickups and Takeaways
There will be other options apart from Dine-in like pre booking of meal online and checking in your car and relishing the food or self-pickup of your meal from designated pickup area in the restaurant.
Thermal Scanning at the Entrance
As soon as you arrive at your favourite restaurant to eat out, mandatory thermal scanning of guests will be the norm.
Self-Declaration Forms
A guest check-in self-declaration form will be in place which covers Covid-19 symptoms. Guests indicating symptoms will be asked to return with immediate reporting to the authorities.
More Space to stretch
The Future of Restaurants certainly promises more space for its patrons. As your enter the restaurant for dine in you may definitely expect to be seated much further apart, with more space to stretch and minimum 6 feet distance between tables. Restaurants may even have enclosed dining sections with partitions.
Digital Menu & Digital Payments
Expect the physical menu cards or booklets going off the table only to be replaced with digital ones. You can order on the tab or on your mobile and proceed with payments. Your token will be generated and the kitchen will receive the order. Cash will be an odd thing and plethora of digital payments methods and wallets will emerge. Restaurants are moving towards 100 % digital payment targets.
Lean Menu & Lockdown Menu
As the sourcing becomes difficult due to affected supplies the menus will become smaller and more lockdown specific as Restaurants are also finding creative ways to cater to customers craving a change from cooking at home.
Tougher reservations
Expect difficult reservation due to high demand and fewer eating out options.
Mask, gloves and Sanitisers
Expect the food to be served by staff in masks and gloves and sanitisers will be flowing free across the restaurant. Many restaurants are also considering Conveyor Belt with food to do away with manual buffet and minimise human contact.
Sealed food, Wrapped Cutlery and Disposables
As per the new Standards of Procedures (SOPs) designed by restaurants expect your food to be sealed, served with wrapped and sanitised cutlery and other disposables.
Quieter & Serious Dining back in fashion
Buffet services will disappear and so will be bar nights, celebrations and parties at the restaurants. Dinning will certainly be more quiet, upscale and serious.
More formal expensive Al-a-carte dine-in and Eating out
This is definitely clear that the restaurants are struggling to reopen across the country due to the various challenges faced by them across the globe. Hence expecting the prices of your meal to go up as restaurants are looking to earn more revenue per meal will not be wrong.
Challenges for restaurants
The restaurants are facing new challenges to cope up with the uncertainty of changes posed by this global outbreak across the world:
- Less Foot falls: Less no of people will be eating out due to corona scare and health concerns
- Less dining options due to Closures and Consolidations: We will see some closures especially of smaller food joints which are already cash strapped, more consolidations and some takeovers will take place once business returns in the industry
- Scarce Staff: As most restaurants use migrant staff, who have all gone home, the man power is in short supply and hence expensive to retain
- Difficult and Expensive Procurement: The procurement will be difficult due to affected supply chains, and expensive due to focus on sourcing organic, high quality, fresh and safe raw materials.
The future of Restaurants also offers new opportunities in the form of new innovative ways of doing business in the wake of Pandemic. Lets us look how and what the restaurants across the world are doing to beat the slowdown:
Cloud Kitchens and Online Delivery
We may easily assume that consumers are going to have a lot of fear about going back out to crowded environments and eating out will still perceived as high risk activity, the concept of cloud kitchen and online delivery are likely to get more popular in your city. The restaurants have already started or thinking of the following:
- Contact Less Delivery: Delivery is now “contactless” whereby the riders drop the food off and stand two meters away to watch people pick up their items.
- Gourmet Delivery: Delivery of gourmet and fine dining food at your home will be an ‘In-thing’.
- Grocery Delivery: Restaurants are expanding delivery and even offering grocery delivery as the preference for eating at home persists.
- Semi Cooked Food and raw-food Delivery: Restaurants across the world have started delivering semi cooked food & raw food with detailed preparation instructions as diners across the world are reluctant to eat out.
Live Streaming of Models Eating
Restaurants are using live-streaming channels, featuring models eating in their outlets in an attempt to give a message to customers that it is safe to come again. This is successfully happening in China post lockdown has been lifted.
Catering Services
Your favourite restaurants are most likely to venture out in additional and innovative ways to augment their already fractured business like Catering services.
Delivery by 5 Star Hotel Kitchens and renowned Chefs
The Covid outbreak has not only impacted the mom and pop food joints but also the Big 5 Star Chains and Chefs. Soon you may expect your favourite 5 star restaurant at Hilton or Leela delivering as an alternate source of earning. Renowned celebrity Chefs delivery services are already the talk of the town.
Blooming of Home Chefs
Due to widespread unemployment and financial crisis, the focus post lockdown will be on great quality at pocket friendly prices, cooked in a hygienic kitchen. Here comes the importance of Home Chefs who will eventually be more trusted due to les public exposure, quality ingredients, easy availability, fresh and safe food.
It is much clear now that people are going regularly to the supermarkets, stocking up their freezer, experimenting with home lockdown cooking (also read Quarantine Cooking- 5 Cooking Experiments to do in Quarantine) and getting used to this behaviour of safe and fresh eating at the comfort of their couch. People are changing their lifestyle in a fast way and this is going to stay true in near future. Diners will all the more be concerned about safety, hygiene and sourcing of raw material. Restaurants will need lots of restructuring and innovative methods to lure their loyal customers back but one thing is sure that “Technology in restaurants” will be crucial in reassuring customers about their safety and health.
