- Hi everyone, I'm Scott Shigeoka,
and I am GoDaddy's entrepreneur-in-residence.
And I'm here in San Francisco following
California's Shelter-in-Place Order.
And today I'm gonna be talking
about the restaurant industry, which is the backbone
of our economy and many of our communities.
How are restaurants being
uniquely impacted by this pandemic?
And how are they pivoting towards delivery and takeout?
And what is working and what isn't?
And finally, what are some of the things
that restaurants are doing to contribute
to their communities despite COVID-19?
Today I'm going to be interviewing
a few people to talk about what restaurants are doing
and how they're surviving during these changing times.
Well, I thought we could just start off
like with a simple question, you know.
What's your name, and what is it that you do?
- Hi, my name is Tierney Plumb.
I'm the Senior Associate Editor of Eater DC.
And I cover all things food
and drink in our nation's capital.
- So at a national level, why are restaurants
being impacted by COVID-19 so dramatically?
And why should we be talking about that?
- So the restaurant industry itself
is based on social interaction.
So it's been uniquely effected by the pandemic.
With the dine-in ban coming into effect
across cities nationwide, the only thing
restaurants can turn to to make money
right now is takeout and delivery.
The US is home to more than one million restaurants,
which employee 15 million workers.
Since the beginning of the Coronavirus pandemic,
that workforce has lost eight million,
or about 2/3 or its workforce to furloughs and lay-offs
as a result of dine-in closures.
- Is it hard for a restaurant to go into delivery?
Were they doing this before?
How has COVID-19 been changing this space?
- So six out of ten restaurants nationwide
are currently open on a takeout and delivery basis.
So a lot of restaurant owners in lieu
of hopping on the app delivery train
and taking the cut from that,
some are doing in-house delivery themself.
- Why is it important for us to support
the restaurant industry in our community?
- Restaurants, of course, are the backbone
of every neighborhood, every local economy.
So if we want them to stick around
we really have to support them now more than ever.
One way to do that is to buy gift cards.
A lot of restaurants are doing gift card purchases
on their site to keep that money coming in,
so that when they do open you can go in and redeem it.
There's a couple places that you can donate to,
for instance, the National Restaurant Association
set up an employee relief fund
that you can donate to online.
And that sets up grants to get to those independent
restaurateurs that need it most.
Unfortunately, undocumented workers,
a lot of them aren't eligible for unemployment benefits,
as a lot of their peers are in the industry.
So they're especially vulnerable right now
when it comes to healthcare and access to the grants
everyone else can get, so it's important
to tap into the local nonprofits
in your community that are directly helping
those workers right now in this time of need.
- Yeah, that's great, I think it's so important to make sure
no one falls through the cracks.
And we're all part of our community.
We're all here to hopefully show up as we can.
Thank you so much for your time.
It was really nice talking to you.
And I'll see you later.
So next up I'm speaking to Leah from ChowNow.
Thanks so much for joining me.
I was wondering, as a first question, what is ChowNow?
- ChowNow, we're an online ordering company.
And we're probably the largest online ordering company
that you've never heard of, 'cause everything that we do
is putting our restaurant brand first.
So we power takeout and delivery on a restaurant's website.
So that's really how we're helping restaurants today
is take the power back and be able to have control
over all their online ordering channels.
- I'm wondering, in this current environment that we're in,
how are you seeing the industry or delivery shift
with COVID-19, what's happening from your end?
- So we've seen about five times the amount of restaurants
signing up, really needing this
in order to survive right now.
It makes sense because restaurants
aren't having people come in and sit down.
They need to find a way to keep their kitchen busy
and keep their staff working.
So the way to do that is through takeout.
- Could you tell more a little bit more
about what you're seeing and how restaurants
are pivoting in creative ways?
- Well, first of all, some restaurants
that have never had takeout or delivery
are now having to figure that out.
Some of them are offering cocktails to go.
'Cause a lot of laws are being passed quickly
where restaurants are actually able to do that.
So that they can keep those bar and alcohol sales going.
And then some of the other things
that we're seeing is restaurants, they are converting
their dining room to being able to offer
goods that they would never sell before.
So they have a distribution channel
from their food distributor, where now they can sell
eggs to their local community.
They've actually turned their restaurant
into almost like a mini market of sorts.
And they'll actually add that to their online menu.
And then, just some of the other trends that were seeing
in direct response to COVID-19 are restaurants
are now offering curbside contactless pickup.
- What advice would you give to a restaurant right now?
- So right now, I think it's really important
to be in touch with your most loyal customers,
and making it as easy as possible for them
to find you and to order from you.
Utilize anyone you have at your disposal.
I know a lot of restaurants, they might not be
the best at social media, but they have
somebody on their waitstaff that is like
great at Instagram and TikTok, or whatever it is.
Look at who's around you, who can help you
get the message out to your customers,
and let them know that you're still open for business,
and make it as easy as possible for your loyal customers
to stay in touch and to order from you during this time.
- I so appreciate your time, and just thank you
for sharing more about ChowNow.
Thank you for advocating for small businesses
and for restaurants in our local community.
- Yeah, thanks for having me.
- So, next, I'm gonna talk to John.
He's a co-owner of a restaurant
in Washington, DC called Cinder BBQ.
So, thanks so much for joining me.
The first question I have for you is
how is your business doing during COVID-19?
- We went from a full-service restaurant
to just a bit of carryout and delivery
to a model that requires nothing but carryout and delivery.
So changing how your entire operation goes has been
a challenge that we've been able to adapt to very well.
- Can you tell me a little bit more
about how you're getting food to customers,
and what the customer experience is like?
- Sure, well curbside is different
than delivery, is different than dine in,
I mean they're all three very different experiences.
And being able to control those expectations
of what the customer expects has been our challenge.
Using a third party provider, like Caviar,
we can depend on the drivers, and that they are there
on time, that they get the food to the customer on time.
Now, when they get the food is it hot?
Is it presented properly?
So the customer experience is very different than
if they walk up to the window, they place an order,
we get to talk to 'em, communicate with 'em,
have that customer experience.
Then they get the food, and then they're on their way.
And I think we have a better chance of controlling that
and making sure that all of that works well,
as opposed to using a third party company like Caviar.
However, they've been very integral in our success.
- How have you been able to keep your employees?
And what does it look like to keep
your business afloat with delivery?
- We haven't laid off any staff
as a result of the coronavirus.
Everybody is still employed with Cinder.
Every bit of revenue that we can generate
is critical, not only for Cinder,
not only for the restaurant, but even the supply chain.
We take donations, right?
And the donations are for meals.
The donations are for meals for those
that can't afford to feed themselves
right now as a result of coronavirus.
So on our online ordering platform,
the very first button we see is meal donation.
We put a number to it,
we say hey this is what will buy a meal.
And on our online orders well over 50%
of our online orders donate one, up to 10 meals per order.
It is remarkable how the community
has jumped up and embraced this.
Our donated meals has been a great opportunity
for us to keep people busy, as well as
keeping that supply chain open, but to give back.
I mean, how fortunate are we that not only
did we not have to close, but then we're able
to give back to the community as well.
And that is very satisfying.
- Do you have any advice for other restaurants
who might be struggling right now?
- Being engaged with the consumer
and our customer on social media has been big, right?
We've added specials, believe it or not in this,
we've added specials to our menu.
Every Thursday we're doing burnt ends,
since we're a barbecue place.
Every Saturday we do full racks of ribs,
rib meals, those sell out before we even open.
And see what you can do to get involved in the community.
Right, volunteer some service, volunteer a meal.
Do something that just,
they say well look, we want to support Cinder
'cause they're supporting the community.
Do that in your neighborhood, do that in your city.
- Okay John, thanks so much,
it was super great talking to you.
And I'm wishing you well
during these times, and hope to see you soon.
So restaurants all across the country
are facing a lot of challenges right now.
And many of them need to pivot
their own businesses to stay afloat.
And some are unfortunately needing
to close their doors for good.
Yet restaurants, as we all know, are the backbone
of our economy and our communities.
And many of these restaurants are actually
stepping up to be in service of others.
To be in service to the communities
and neighborhoods we live in.
So let's do our part, let's actually give back
to the restaurant industry by calling them
and ordering takeout and delivery, or getting gift cards.
You can also donate to places like
the National Restaurants Association.
There's a link below this video with more information.
And if you're a small business owner
who's struggling and you need some resources
you can check out openwestand.org
for more information and more resources.
Thank you so much for joining us.
And I hope you stay safe and stay well during this time.