Off-premises dining now comprises a larger portion of overall sales than it did pre-pandemic in all six major restaurant segments (family dining, casual dining, fine dining, quick service, fast casual, and coffee and snack).1 No doubt, the demand for takeout will remain strong in the coming months as summer temperatures and higher vaccination rates prompt consumers to seek a convenient way to dine outside—and take leftovers home.
Topics: Noncommercial, Promotions, Marketing & Communications, Family Restaurant, Takeout, Regional, Business & Industry, Commercial, Quick Service Restaurant, Casual Dining Restaurant, Fine Dining, Delivery, National, Local, Beverages, Main Dishes, Lunch, Dinner, Single-Serve, Family, Freshness, Grab-and-Go, Foodservice Industry, Menu, Customer Experience, Consumer, Menu Strategy, Product Quality & Safety, Social Responsibility, Sustainability, Food & Beverage, Health & Wellness, Packaging, Sales & Profitability, Delivery App, Drive-Thru, Consumers, COVID-19, Coronavirus, Curbside Pickup, Fast-Casual Restaurant, Off-Premises, Consumer Behavior, Sandwiches/Burgers, Design, Digital/Online Ordering, Third-Party Delivery (3PD), Safety & Sanitation, Mobile App, Outdoor Dining, Waste Reduction, Touchless, On-Premises
Tight margins and an increasingly competitive landscape may have given the foodservice industry cause for concern year after year, but nothing could have prepared it for the sweeping impact of COVID-19 in 2020. The seismic shift to off-premises channels as restrictions on dine-in service and prolonged suspensions of onsite dining took hold brought a feast of challenges and opportunities, changing the direction of foodservice for years to come.
Topics: Technology, Trends, Mobile, Takeout, Delivery, Foodservice Industry, Product Quality & Safety, Sales & Profitability, Operations, COVID-19, Coronavirus
The roadblocks on the road to reopening continue. As the number of coronavirus cases rises in reopened states such as Texas, Florida, Arizona and others, fear of infection at restaurants seems to be growing at a fever pitch, threatening to grind dine-in services to a halt.
Topics: Restaurant Operations, Product Quality & Safety, Social Responsibility, Sales & Profitability, Operations, COVID-19, Coronavirus
To serve up sales and mitigate the shortfall during the COVID-19 outbreak, foodservice operators have had to think outside of the box. Now, many are thinking outside—as in al fresco—in states and cities where dine-in remains prohibited. And even where dine-in restrictions have eased, al fresco dining still offers a breath of fresh air for consumers eager to dine out—and an opportunity for sales-hungry operators to feed the bottom line.
Topics: Takeout, Delivery, Product Quality & Safety, Social Responsibility, Drive-Thru, COVID-19, Coronavirus
As government restrictions on restaurant operations loosen, the industry seems to have shifted focus from eating as few losses as possible to feeding the bottom line. Opportunities and challenges abound in this transitional period of social distancing, hypervigilant hygiene, and dependence on delivery and takeout. The “new normal” of modified operations and changing consumer demands is here for the long haul, even as much of it continues to evolve.
Topics: Business & Industry, Consumer, Product Quality & Safety, COVID-19, Coronavirus
See how you can leverage 2020’s top trends to help tailor your menu for today’s evolving tastes.
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