求生欲強，美國餐飲店紛紛變身零售店
Rachel King
2020-05-11
隨著社會經濟活動的全面停擺，外帶和外賣成了美國多數尚在營業餐館和酒吧唯一的經營手段。面對新冠病毒疫情危機，這些個體戶老板們不得不使出各種奇思妙招來求生存。
全美各地的眾多餐館都在線上菜單上增加了食品雜貨專區，來散賣食品，如大米、豆類、橄欖油、鹽、面包、蘸醬、沙拉醬，甚至還有肉塊和魚塊。售價平均來看可能比本地雜貨店或者街角便利店高一點。但這些餐館之所以這么做，很多都是寄希望于顧客還會另外購買它們的特制美食，也希望原有的顧客能夠多幫襯。
例如，知名大廚柯蒂斯·斯通的好萊塢餐館Gwen Butcher Shop & Restaurant轉向集市模式，主打精選的肉塊。他在貝弗利山開設的精致餐廳Maude也推出了全新的菜單來迎合家庭群體，每天輪流變換菜品，如配全谷物芥末醬的腌制烤雞、波隆那肉醬千層面、春季素食盤菜等等。
“我們要像平常那樣不斷鞭策自己，”斯通在接受《財富》雜志采訪時表示，“只要有客人光顧，我們就會繼續經營下去。能夠為我們的社區服務，有經過的老顧客和新朋友來取餐表示支持，真是太好了。”
曾經，為了避免浪費，餐館通常會將店里剩下的食品批量出售。市場研究公司IBISWorld的高級分析師雷切爾?海蘭德指出，很少有餐館會在提供外賣服務的同時，還繼續散賣這些商品。然而，雖然只有少數餐館這么做，但在疫情期間，這一概念正變得越來越受青睞。
“很多散賣商品的餐館早早就關門，庫存一賣完就關門。”海蘭德說，“只要有足夠的需求確保維持運轉，采取這種零售模式的餐館可能就會繼續這么做。”
然而，NPD集團食品行業顧問大衛?波塔拉廷警告稱，大多數餐館都無法在人流量少的地方把量做大，因而很難維持食品雜貨業務的經營。“這就是為什么現在的便利店都側重銷售高利潤的預制食品。”他解釋道，“我們看到餐飲服務業和零售業的渠道界限正在模糊化，餐館紛紛尋求與零售店建立合作，讓后者充當它們的銷售點出售預制食品和主食，以及提供方便烘焙的食材或其它食材來幫助消費者準備餐食。疫情結束以后可能會有更多像這樣的混合銷售模式出現，但目前來看它們只是各家餐館的權宜之計。”
除了提供熱食以外，洛杉磯餐館All Time也變成了一家大賣場。其出售的食品包括雞蛋、牛奶、干面食和紅酒，來自它將繼續支持的小型供應商合作伙伴。圖片來源：All Time
All Time是洛杉磯盧斯費利斯區的一家頗具人氣的社區餐廳，它在按照飲食偏好分別為素食者、魚素主義者和肉食者提供“必備食品雜貨套裝”。素食套裝售價250美元，包含雞蛋、意大利面、米飯、土豆、羽衣甘藍、面包、橄欖油、帕爾馬干酪、咖啡、辣椒醬、墨西哥卷餅、奶制品和燕麥奶二選一以及兩卷衛生紙。
該餐館的合伙人阿什莉·威爾斯說道，“我們可以拿到很多很好的供貨，不管是肉類、農產品還是各類其它的東西。我們知道我們得讓這些東西直接進入我們的社區，同時也要盡可能地多支持與我們長期合作的供應商。”
她和她同為合伙人的丈夫泰勒已經對餐館的經營模式進行了徹頭徹尾的改造，包括所提供的產品以及接單方式。顧客不再需要當面結賬；所有的餐食現在都只接受網上下單。他們禁止任何客人進入餐館；不管是員工還是顧客，所有人都必須佩戴口罩。
“現在我們的經營模式幾乎面目全非了，”泰勒說，“我們面臨的最大挑戰是，讓我們的服務和產品質量維持平常忙碌時期那樣的高水準。這個過程很有意思，因為我們在投身于外賣世界的同時，也在真正投入到這種經營模式的研發當中，我們會琢磨如何才能夠為我們的社區提供最好的外賣服務，畢竟All Time本質上是一家堂食為主的餐館。”
“我們與顧客之間的反饋是雙向的，持續不斷的；我們不斷地尋求改善我們的產品，與時俱進，不會僅僅滿足于達到最低的標準。這是我們一直以來秉承的宗旨——我們致力于提供超高水準的產品質量和餐食體驗，不管我們處在我們熟悉的堂食接待模式，還是處在現在這樣的完全陌生的新環境中，都是如此。”洛杉磯餐館合伙人阿什莉·威爾斯說。圖片來源：All Time
正當眾多餐館為了維持經營而不得不甩賣店內所有的庫存之時，餐飲集團F.L.X. Hospitality的克里斯托弗?貝茨卻在這段充滿不確定性的時期成功開辟了一個新的收入來源。其集團在紐約芬格湖區有五家餐館。紐約州酒類法律最近發生變更，開始允許餐館店內銷售紅酒。貝茨隨即將旗下其中的一家餐館改造成了純零售店（名為Super Secret Wine Shop），專門出售他一手精選的紅酒（貝茨是品酒大師），同時支持路邊提取、本地配送和全美發售。
“我想，即使它做不成，我們也要做好重新開業的準備。”貝茨說道。他的紅酒店后來增加了一些新產品（如Blind Tasting Boxes）。這些產品人氣頗旺，貝茨也因而得以招回更多的員工。隨著銷售的高漲，貝茨需要購入新的存貨，提供更多的商品選擇，以滿足顧客的需求。
“說實話，一開始我對停擺既憤怒又沮喪，但之后就開始啟動生存模式了。這還是有幫助的。”貝茨稱，“我們這些餐館就是擅長做這個：生存、適應環境和創新。一旦撐過那些階段，我們就會開始變得越來越興奮。”
根據美國國家餐館協會的數據，在疫情導致停擺之前，全美大約有100萬家餐館在營業，其中約一半是獨立經營的，員工總數約為1560萬人。當中90%的餐館員工數不到50人。獨立餐館聯盟（IRC）的數據顯示，餐館年營收達到8800億美元，占美國GDP的4%。IRC是廚師和餐館經理3月發起的一項草根運動。
但是，在自3月9日那周加州開始實施居家令，美國各地相繼跟進，非必要行業紛紛停工以來，餐飲業遭到了嚴重的打擊。僅在4月，餐飲服務行業就預計損失超過500億美元的銷售額，截至4月16日已有800多萬名餐館員工被解雇或暫時解雇。據IRC估計，隨著當前的經濟危機愈演愈烈，這一數字將會擴大到1100萬。
這家名為Super Secret Wine Shop的紅酒店鋪原本是一家準備開業的餐館，叫F.L.X. Provisions。圖片來源：FLX Hospitality
蘿賓·馬塔拉佐是位于紐約州韋斯切斯特縣的Villaggio Italiano餐館的合伙人，她也采取了各種各樣的措施來應對經營環境的變化。這家有42年歷史的家庭經營餐館現在出售自制比薩餅套裝，供家庭顧客在家自制比薩餅；還出售包含所有原料的套餐，意在為顧客帶來餐館式的用餐體驗。
馬塔拉佐解釋稱，她的餐館之所以推出自制比薩餅套裝，是為了滿足一些父母的需求，因為他們得整天在家照顧孩子，需要多給孩子找點事做打發時間。她說，“我們在社交媒體上看到了很多關于父母因為照料孩子而抓狂的帖子，因此我們想要幫助他們讓孩子忙起來。” Villaggio Italiano每天大約賣出10到15份自制套裝，每份售價10美元。里面配有做小餡餅的生面團份量、馬蘇里拉奶酪和番茄醬。
“餡餅做好以后，不少顧客開始曬照并把我們的店標記出來，太有心了。”馬塔拉佐補充道。
馬塔拉佐接受了餐館不能接受堂食的事實，因為她明白這些措施都是為了阻止新冠病毒疫情的擴散。與此同時，她心里很清楚這將會對她的門店生意以及員工造成重大打擊，但她也強調身體健康比什么都重要。
“進入這種新常態的頭幾天，心情非常沮喪。”馬塔拉佐回憶說，“不得不暫時解雇員工，生意下滑，也想到為我們工作了15到30年的員工可能找不到工作，所有的這一切都讓人心碎，但我們也無能為力，我們必須得盡快想出新法規下的經營辦法。”
馬塔拉佐指出，最初幾天銷售額下降了80%以上，因而她的店不得不解雇80%的員工。該比薩餅店停止了所有的廣告宣傳，同時也在不斷削減食物的采購量。但隨著時間的推移，經營狀況總算迎來好轉。
目前，Villaggio Italiano還有兩名廚師、兩名另外的比薩餅廚師、一名接電話的員工和三名配送師傅。外賣業務增長迅猛，因此該餐廳增加了兩名配送師傅。“電話響個不停，我們對此永遠心存感激。有很多顧客過來取餐時還會遠遠地向我們問好，送上美好的祝福。”
馬塔拉佐坦言，她的店從未想過要推出禮券——堂食業務停止初期興起的一種模式，意在快速給餐館帶來現金流——因為她了解到顧客們也在失去工作和經濟來源。“我們當時決定只管盡力地去經營，看看會發生什么，畢竟我們都無法改變現狀。”她解釋道。
“一些鐘愛的商家倒閉的故事令人心碎，但也有一些關于商家奮力適應新常態，逆境中求生存的趣味故事。” 肯塔基州萊克星頓Al 's Bar酒吧的合伙人塞思?布魯爾表示，“希望當一切塵埃落地時，我們會歸屬于后一類故事。”圖片來源：Al's Bar
肯塔基州的酒吧和餐館與紐約州的同行在同一周內受到經營限制，只能提供外賣、路邊取餐和外帶。
“我們的音樂廳和酒吧一夜之間就死翹翹了。”肯塔基州列克星敦Al’s Bar合伙人塞思?布魯爾說道。
布魯爾說，大致評估了一番后，他和他的生意搭檔蒂姆·斯莫爾發現他們無法繼續合法經營下去：肯塔基州的酒類法律還沒有放寬，餐館和提供食品的酒吧不能出售外帶酒水。Al 's Bar之前在建造廚房，但還沒有完成改造工程的收官階段，在經營受限之前沒有出售過任何的食品，因此它現在不能轉而出售食品，來彌補酒精飲料的銷售損失。
布魯爾說，雪上加霜的是，由于當地政府實施針對疫情的安全防護措施，他們無法讓衛生部門過來檢查他們的廚房，所以后備計劃無法展開。他們原本打算招募一些失業的餐館同行來開售食品。“那個計劃原本可以給我們的一些朋友帶來經濟收入，也會讓我們得以在遵守行政命令的情況下營業。該行政命令允許出售食品的商戶在出售食品的同時出售酒水。”
Al 's Bar的生意隨即一落千丈。然而，在對手頭上的東西重新思量一番后，布魯爾和斯莫爾意識到，他們還有一項資產：原包裝啤酒零售許可證，這在之前似乎難以派上用場。由此，Al 's Bar一夜之間從酒吧變成了啤酒商店（Al 's Bar Store）。
“我們想到我們可以變成一家啤酒商店，所以我們就這么干了。”布魯爾解釋道，“我倆中有一個擁有城里的精品酒行的零售經驗，了解零售利潤率，也熟知多家啤酒經銷商以及它們的品牌聲譽，因此我們有能力把我們的酒吧變成一家零售店。”
他們的啤酒店每天的營業時間相對有限，從下午4點開到晚上8點（疫情發生前，從下午5點開到凌晨2點30分），主吧臺區改造成了在售啤酒的展示區。
據布魯爾說，最初似乎只有本地居民和常客來光顧——他們希望盡可能地為酒吧的經營和它的員工出一份力。但幾周過去，那些“愛心小費”有所減少，啤酒銷售則穩步上揚。
“我們正在解決我們社區的一個需求痛點，我們主要向他們出售精釀啤酒，而過往他們得開車去購買好啤酒，又或者只能將就購買附近加油站供應的啤酒。”布魯爾說道，“有些顧客還一直叫我們在疫情結束后繼續這么賣。”
由于需求的增長，許多食品雜貨店可能無法滿足當日取貨或送貨的訂單，因而不上門的顧客很難買到一兩樣重要的基本食品。圖片來源：Panera Bread
大刀闊斧改變經營模式的并不只有小型餐飲場所。Panera Bread全美各地的門店已經從滿足午餐高峰需求轉向銷售基本食品。除了面包和百吉餅，Panera Grocery還出售農產品和奶制品(從幾加侖的牛奶到希臘酸奶，選擇多樣)，支持到店提取和無接觸式配送。
這一模式推向全美各地的門店，加盟店和自營店也參與其中。Panera在全美大約有2200家門店，其中15%已經暫時關閉。旗下幾乎每一家營業的咖啡門店都有參與。在營業的門店中（將近1900家），有95%在處理Panera Grocery食品雜貨訂單。
“隨著新冠病毒的襲來，我們知道我們需要做更多的事情來滿足我們的顧客，適應他們的需求變化。”Panera首席執行官尼倫·喬杜里指出，“如今，由于需求高漲，各地的人們都難以買到必需品，難以獲得準時的食品雜貨配送服務，他們也希望在出門采購必需品時能夠盡量減少停車次數。”
喬杜里說，隨著時間的推移，Panera Grocery希望進一步拓展業務，為顧客提供更多的基本食品雜貨。至于Panera Grocery業務是否會在疫情結束后長期保留，她說尚不排除這一可能性。“我們將一如既往地關注消費者的需求——是否保留，完全取決于我們的消費者在疫情結束后是否仍然認為這些日常食品雜貨值得購買。”
生存沒有秘訣可言
但這些都不是一夜之間的成功故事。也許硅谷的獨角獸公司讓商業模式的“航向轉變”顯得輕而易舉，但成功的例子其實寥寥無幾。
在漫長的冬季接近尾聲之時，F.L.X. Hospitality旗下的兩家新門店幾近完工，開業在即，它還打算5月再開設四家。貝茨的一家F.L.X. Fry Bird新餐館才剛在2月開業，生意做得有聲有色。
“說實話，我們遭遇的仿佛是山崩海嘯，無可阻擋。在多個州紛紛開始停擺后，我們就招架不住了。更甚的是，這波沖擊還沒達到最高峰，直至我們所在的州也開始停擺。”貝茨說道，“無論我們有多努力，也無濟于事，計劃總是趕不上變化。”
3月15日，紐約州州長安德魯·庫默宣布，紐約州所有餐飲場所僅允許外帶或外賣，禁止堂食。貝茨說，聽到這一消息后，他當場哭了。但他得冷靜下來，給經理們逐個發短信，通知他們準備好關店一段時間。然后，他開車前往旗下的餐館，一家一家地跑，去當面與經理們說明狀況，并向團隊發表講話。“我得在5個小時內告訴我的整個團隊，我不再能夠為他們提供工作了。”貝茨稱，“這是我一生中最艱難的一天。”
“停擺當日，我很害怕這個團隊會出什么事，于是給他們提供了各種東西：食物、住處、衣服以及這段時間里他們需要的任何東西。”貝茨說，“只要我有，我都愿意提供給他們。他們平安健康，過得安穩，對我來說就是很大的安慰。”圖片來源：F.L.X. Fry Bird
在3月中旬停擺之后，貝茨的團隊決定嘗試讓Fry Bird繼續營業，提供外帶餐食，同時增加外賣服務。貝茨讓團隊中最可靠的幾個成員留下來幫忙，約定先試著營業一周看看。生意一天比一天忙碌。每一天，他們都能多招回一名團隊成員。3月15日停擺當天，貝茨的餐飲集團才剛剛完成F.L.X. Provisions的擴建，增設了一間品酒室和一間美食貯藏室。這家店原來打算兩天后正式開業——后來確實開業了，只不過沒有按照原來的計劃。在該團隊倉促準備一番后，開業的變成了Super Secret Wine Shop紅酒店。
Fry Bird的銷售狀況一直起伏不定，貝茨坦言生意有所下滑，但也指出情況并沒有非常糟糕。“我們盡力而為，嚴格管理經營效率，順應市場環境的變化。總的來說，我們保住了一些團隊成員的工作了，算對公司負責了，也沒有嚴重影響我們應對這場危機的能力。”然而，Super Secret Wine Shop的生意則節節高升。這家紅酒店擁有新的、更加寬敞的空間，也得益于SLA（服務級別協議）的變動得以出售更多的品類。貝茨說，該店反而給他和他的團隊帶來了多得多的機會，同時也帶來了經營彈性，讓他們可以做一些他們從未做過的事情。
“政府宣布全面停擺的那個星期一，我們對整個團隊進行了裁員，并削減了所有可削減的開支項目。”貝茨說，“我想，為了確保我們能夠挺過這場危機，我們必須得那么做。一切要看這場危機持續多久——我們一度要撐不下去了——但所幸我們迅速作出了應對，為自己爭取了一點喘息的時間。那些決定確保我們有機會在疫情結束后重建那些工作崗位，重新吸引游客光顧，并最終重整我們的經濟狀況。”
F.L.X. Hospitality申請了薪資保護項目的援助，但和許多其它的申請者一樣，該公司也在等待獲批。“考慮到債務免除和償還方面的指引仍然沒有明確，即使能夠在未來幾周內拿到那筆救助金，你也會安不下心來。”貝茨說道。
會恢復如前嗎？
對于餐飲業是否將會恢復如前，貝茨稱不好說，現在預測還言之過早。“我個人覺得，我們作為人需要與別人面對面接觸。我希望，最終我們將會變得想要更多地與他人連接溝通——不再在跟人吃飯時埋頭玩手機，而是與我們周圍的人連接互動。”這正是他其中的一家餐館F.L.X. Table的主打模式：一家由14人組成的主廚菜單餐廳，靈感來自一次晚宴。他希望，疫情結束后我們都會有那樣的渴望。
“人們正在認識到，社交上的匱乏與營養上的匱乏沒有什么不同：二者都是我們所渴望和需要的東西。”貝茨稱，“盡管如此，我們的‘常態’現在每天都在變化。目前來看，下周的情況還不得而知，所以對我們來說，預測下個月的情況就是在浪費時間。”
紐約的餐飲場所被告知堂食禁令至少要持續到5月15日，紐約北部縣區的餐館屆時或許能重新開放，相較之下，紐約市內的餐館則預計還要等待很長一段時間才能開放。貝茨坦稱，鑒于還有幾周就到了，這或許是件好事。但他也指出，怕就怕在重新開放時消費者的信心還沒有恢復過來。因此，他打算至少等到6月15日以后才讓旗下的餐館全面恢復開放。“我很清楚，現在的情況可能會持續更長的時間，但考慮到現在還有那么多影響著我們的事情需要關注和思考，過多的猜測也無濟于事。”貝茨說道。
貝茨仍然心存樂觀。“一旦我們從悲傷和沮喪情緒中走出來，開始去做我們平常會做的事情——創造——我每天早上醒來都會十分興奮。”他說，“我等不及要做電子表格，試驗這樣那樣的新主意了，也等不及要接觸外面的人尋求建立合作了。”
Villaggio Italiano比薩餅店的團隊已經開始考慮重新開放后需要如何改變經營模式了。首先，餐廳內要削減30%的餐桌，以確保顧客之間能夠保持安全距離。其次，為每張餐桌配備洗手液供人們使用，安排人手勤換餐桌布，使用多種清潔劑，確保盡量減少或清除餐廳內的任何塑料。
“我個人認為，任何時候不管發生什么改變生活的重大事情，人們都會出現暫時性的變化，但最終都會變回原來那樣。”馬塔拉佐指出，“我想，這一次影響非常巨大，所以人們恢復起來需要一定的時日，可能要過幾個月人們才會重新變回往常那樣。至于我們的員工是否會佩戴手套和口罩，要看醫療部門和政府下放的通知。”
從長遠來看，馬塔拉佐預計外賣和外帶訂單會增加，而堂食業務則可能要在餐廳重新開放后很長一段時間才恢復正常。“我們只能根據目前的情況做出這一預測，希望一切都能盡快好轉。”她表示，“我知道我代表著我自己和我的員工，我們想說的是，我們都期待著能夠再次擁抱每一個人。”
布魯爾承認，轉向啤酒店模式“一開始只是孤注一擲，”但后來卻成了救命稻草，盡管可能只是暫時性的。他們寄望于依靠那種模式撐到恢復正常營業，布魯爾對目前的成功也非常滿意，雖然不算很成功。未來轉回正常的經營模式以后，他很可能會繼續提供和宣傳外帶特色酒品。
然而，在布魯爾看來，人們將需要一段時間才能像往常那樣放心前往公共的社會環境，對于餐飲場所的經理們來說這將會是一個不小的挑戰。“畢竟，外出和身處充斥著陌生人的封閉空間，已經成了一個不正常的想法了。”他說，“該死的，在居家隔離和保持社交距離的時期，就連與人握手都讓人感覺很怪異，很陌生。”
布魯爾稱，短期來看，他的酒吧必須得繼續推進法律允許的業務：銷售外帶啤酒。然而，他覺得現在生存都成問題，根本談不上長期發展。“我們這些小商戶有很多都沒有足夠的現金儲備或創收渠道來繼續抗爭，哪怕債務償還可以延期，債務也終究還是債務。”布魯爾指出，“如果這種情況再持續六個月，那我們必定要關門大吉。就這么簡單。”（財富中文網）
譯者：萬志文
隨著社會經濟活動的全面停擺，外帶和外賣成了美國多數尚在營業餐館和酒吧唯一的經營手段。面對新冠病毒疫情危機，這些個體戶老板們不得不使出各種奇思妙招來求生存。
全美各地的眾多餐館都在線上菜單上增加了食品雜貨專區，來散賣食品，如大米、豆類、橄欖油、鹽、面包、蘸醬、沙拉醬，甚至還有肉塊和魚塊。售價平均來看可能比本地雜貨店或者街角便利店高一點。但這些餐館之所以這么做，很多都是寄希望于顧客還會另外購買它們的特制美食，也希望原有的顧客能夠多幫襯。
例如，知名大廚柯蒂斯·斯通的好萊塢餐館Gwen Butcher Shop & Restaurant轉向集市模式，主打精選的肉塊。他在貝弗利山開設的精致餐廳Maude也推出了全新的菜單來迎合家庭群體，每天輪流變換菜品，如配全谷物芥末醬的腌制烤雞、波隆那肉醬千層面、春季素食盤菜等等。
“我們要像平常那樣不斷鞭策自己，”斯通在接受《財富》雜志采訪時表示，“只要有客人光顧，我們就會繼續經營下去。能夠為我們的社區服務，有經過的老顧客和新朋友來取餐表示支持，真是太好了。”
曾經，為了避免浪費，餐館通常會將店里剩下的食品批量出售。市場研究公司IBISWorld的高級分析師雷切爾?海蘭德指出，很少有餐館會在提供外賣服務的同時，還繼續散賣這些商品。然而，雖然只有少數餐館這么做，但在疫情期間，這一概念正變得越來越受青睞。
“很多散賣商品的餐館早早就關門，庫存一賣完就關門。”海蘭德說，“只要有足夠的需求確保維持運轉，采取這種零售模式的餐館可能就會繼續這么做。”
然而，NPD集團食品行業顧問大衛?波塔拉廷警告稱，大多數餐館都無法在人流量少的地方把量做大，因而很難維持食品雜貨業務的經營。“這就是為什么現在的便利店都側重銷售高利潤的預制食品。”他解釋道，“我們看到餐飲服務業和零售業的渠道界限正在模糊化，餐館紛紛尋求與零售店建立合作，讓后者充當它們的銷售點出售預制食品和主食，以及提供方便烘焙的食材或其它食材來幫助消費者準備餐食。疫情結束以后可能會有更多像這樣的混合銷售模式出現，但目前來看它們只是各家餐館的權宜之計。”
All Time是洛杉磯盧斯費利斯區的一家頗具人氣的社區餐廳，它在按照飲食偏好分別為素食者、魚素主義者和肉食者提供“必備食品雜貨套裝”。素食套裝售價250美元，包含雞蛋、意大利面、米飯、土豆、羽衣甘藍、面包、橄欖油、帕爾馬干酪、咖啡、辣椒醬、墨西哥卷餅、奶制品和燕麥奶二選一以及兩卷衛生紙。
該餐館的合伙人阿什莉·威爾斯說道，“我們可以拿到很多很好的供貨，不管是肉類、農產品還是各類其它的東西。我們知道我們得讓這些東西直接進入我們的社區，同時也要盡可能地多支持與我們長期合作的供應商。”
她和她同為合伙人的丈夫泰勒已經對餐館的經營模式進行了徹頭徹尾的改造，包括所提供的產品以及接單方式。顧客不再需要當面結賬；所有的餐食現在都只接受網上下單。他們禁止任何客人進入餐館；不管是員工還是顧客，所有人都必須佩戴口罩。
“現在我們的經營模式幾乎面目全非了，”泰勒說，“我們面臨的最大挑戰是，讓我們的服務和產品質量維持平常忙碌時期那樣的高水準。這個過程很有意思，因為我們在投身于外賣世界的同時，也在真正投入到這種經營模式的研發當中，我們會琢磨如何才能夠為我們的社區提供最好的外賣服務，畢竟All Time本質上是一家堂食為主的餐館。”
正當眾多餐館為了維持經營而不得不甩賣店內所有的庫存之時，餐飲集團F.L.X. Hospitality的克里斯托弗?貝茨卻在這段充滿不確定性的時期成功開辟了一個新的收入來源。其集團在紐約芬格湖區有五家餐館。紐約州酒類法律最近發生變更，開始允許餐館店內銷售紅酒。貝茨隨即將旗下其中的一家餐館改造成了純零售店（名為Super Secret Wine Shop），專門出售他一手精選的紅酒（貝茨是品酒大師），同時支持路邊提取、本地配送和全美發售。
“我想，即使它做不成，我們也要做好重新開業的準備。”貝茨說道。他的紅酒店后來增加了一些新產品（如Blind Tasting Boxes）。這些產品人氣頗旺，貝茨也因而得以招回更多的員工。隨著銷售的高漲，貝茨需要購入新的存貨，提供更多的商品選擇，以滿足顧客的需求。
“說實話，一開始我對停擺既憤怒又沮喪，但之后就開始啟動生存模式了。這還是有幫助的。”貝茨稱，“我們這些餐館就是擅長做這個：生存、適應環境和創新。一旦撐過那些階段，我們就會開始變得越來越興奮。”
根據美國國家餐館協會的數據，在疫情導致停擺之前，全美大約有100萬家餐館在營業，其中約一半是獨立經營的，員工總數約為1560萬人。當中90%的餐館員工數不到50人。獨立餐館聯盟（IRC）的數據顯示，餐館年營收達到8800億美元，占美國GDP的4%。IRC是廚師和餐館經理3月發起的一項草根運動。
但是，在自3月9日那周加州開始實施居家令，美國各地相繼跟進，非必要行業紛紛停工以來，餐飲業遭到了嚴重的打擊。僅在4月，餐飲服務行業就預計損失超過500億美元的銷售額，截至4月16日已有800多萬名餐館員工被解雇或暫時解雇。據IRC估計，隨著當前的經濟危機愈演愈烈，這一數字將會擴大到1100萬。
這家名為Super Secret Wine Shop的紅酒店鋪原本是一家準備開業的餐館，叫F.L.X. Provisions。
蘿賓·馬塔拉佐是位于紐約州韋斯切斯特縣的Villaggio Italiano餐館的合伙人，她也采取了各種各樣的措施來應對經營環境的變化。這家有42年歷史的家庭經營餐館現在出售自制比薩餅套裝，供家庭顧客在家自制比薩餅；還出售包含所有原料的套餐，意在為顧客帶來餐館式的用餐體驗。
馬塔拉佐解釋稱，她的餐館之所以推出自制比薩餅套裝，是為了滿足一些父母的需求，因為他們得整天在家照顧孩子，需要多給孩子找點事做打發時間。她說，“我們在社交媒體上看到了很多關于父母因為照料孩子而抓狂的帖子，因此我們想要幫助他們讓孩子忙起來。” Villaggio Italiano每天大約賣出10到15份自制套裝，每份售價10美元。里面配有做小餡餅的生面團份量、馬蘇里拉奶酪和番茄醬。
“餡餅做好以后，不少顧客開始曬照并把我們的店標記出來，太有心了。”馬塔拉佐補充道。
馬塔拉佐接受了餐館不能接受堂食的事實，因為她明白這些措施都是為了阻止新冠病毒疫情的擴散。與此同時，她心里很清楚這將會對她的門店生意以及員工造成重大打擊，但她也強調身體健康比什么都重要。
“進入這種新常態的頭幾天，心情非常沮喪。”馬塔拉佐回憶說，“不得不暫時解雇員工，生意下滑，也想到為我們工作了15到30年的員工可能找不到工作，所有的這一切都讓人心碎，但我們也無能為力，我們必須得盡快想出新法規下的經營辦法。”
馬塔拉佐指出，最初幾天銷售額下降了80%以上，因而她的店不得不解雇80%的員工。該比薩餅店停止了所有的廣告宣傳，同時也在不斷削減食物的采購量。但隨著時間的推移，經營狀況總算迎來好轉。
目前，Villaggio Italiano還有兩名廚師、兩名另外的比薩餅廚師、一名接電話的員工和三名配送師傅。外賣業務增長迅猛，因此該餐廳增加了兩名配送師傅。“電話響個不停，我們對此永遠心存感激。有很多顧客過來取餐時還會遠遠地向我們問好，送上美好的祝福。”
馬塔拉佐坦言，她的店從未想過要推出禮券——堂食業務停止初期興起的一種模式，意在快速給餐館帶來現金流——因為她了解到顧客們也在失去工作和經濟來源。“我們當時決定只管盡力地去經營，看看會發生什么，畢竟我們都無法改變現狀。”她解釋道。
肯塔基州的酒吧和餐館與紐約州的同行在同一周內受到經營限制，只能提供外賣、路邊取餐和外帶。
“我們的音樂廳和酒吧一夜之間就死翹翹了。”肯塔基州列克星敦Al’s Bar合伙人塞思?布魯爾說道。
布魯爾說，大致評估了一番后，他和他的生意搭檔蒂姆·斯莫爾發現他們無法繼續合法經營下去：肯塔基州的酒類法律還沒有放寬，餐館和提供食品的酒吧不能出售外帶酒水。Al 's Bar之前在建造廚房，但還沒有完成改造工程的收官階段，在經營受限之前沒有出售過任何的食品，因此它現在不能轉而出售食品，來彌補酒精飲料的銷售損失。
布魯爾說，雪上加霜的是，由于當地政府實施針對疫情的安全防護措施，他們無法讓衛生部門過來檢查他們的廚房，所以后備計劃無法展開。他們原本打算招募一些失業的餐館同行來開售食品。“那個計劃原本可以給我們的一些朋友帶來經濟收入，也會讓我們得以在遵守行政命令的情況下營業。該行政命令允許出售食品的商戶在出售食品的同時出售酒水。”
Al 's Bar的生意隨即一落千丈。然而，在對手頭上的東西重新思量一番后，布魯爾和斯莫爾意識到，他們還有一項資產：原包裝啤酒零售許可證，這在之前似乎難以派上用場。由此，Al 's Bar一夜之間從酒吧變成了啤酒商店（Al 's Bar Store）。
“我們想到我們可以變成一家啤酒商店，所以我們就這么干了。”布魯爾解釋道，“我倆中有一個擁有城里的精品酒行的零售經驗，了解零售利潤率，也熟知多家啤酒經銷商以及它們的品牌聲譽，因此我們有能力把我們的酒吧變成一家零售店。”
他們的啤酒店每天的營業時間相對有限，從下午4點開到晚上8點（疫情發生前，從下午5點開到凌晨2點30分），主吧臺區改造成了在售啤酒的展示區。
據布魯爾說，最初似乎只有本地居民和常客來光顧——他們希望盡可能地為酒吧的經營和它的員工出一份力。但幾周過去，那些“愛心小費”有所減少，啤酒銷售則穩步上揚。
“我們正在解決我們社區的一個需求痛點，我們主要向他們出售精釀啤酒，而過往他們得開車去購買好啤酒，又或者只能將就購買附近加油站供應的啤酒。”布魯爾說道，“有些顧客還一直叫我們在疫情結束后繼續這么賣。”
大刀闊斧改變經營模式的并不只有小型餐飲場所。Panera Bread全美各地的門店已經從滿足午餐高峰需求轉向銷售基本食品。除了面包和百吉餅，Panera Grocery還出售農產品和奶制品(從幾加侖的牛奶到希臘酸奶，選擇多樣)，支持到店提取和無接觸式配送。
這一模式推向全美各地的門店，加盟店和自營店也參與其中。Panera在全美大約有2200家門店，其中15%已經暫時關閉。旗下幾乎每一家營業的咖啡門店都有參與。在營業的門店中（將近1900家），有95%在處理Panera Grocery食品雜貨訂單。
“隨著新冠病毒的襲來，我們知道我們需要做更多的事情來滿足我們的顧客，適應他們的需求變化。”Panera首席執行官尼倫·喬杜里指出，“如今，由于需求高漲，各地的人們都難以買到必需品，難以獲得準時的食品雜貨配送服務，他們也希望在出門采購必需品時能夠盡量減少停車次數。”
喬杜里說，隨著時間的推移，Panera Grocery希望進一步拓展業務，為顧客提供更多的基本食品雜貨。至于Panera Grocery業務是否會在疫情結束后長期保留，她說尚不排除這一可能性。“我們將一如既往地關注消費者的需求——是否保留，完全取決于我們的消費者在疫情結束后是否仍然認為這些日常食品雜貨值得購買。”
生存沒有秘訣可言
但這些都不是一夜之間的成功故事。也許硅谷的獨角獸公司讓商業模式的“航向轉變”顯得輕而易舉，但成功的例子其實寥寥無幾。
在漫長的冬季接近尾聲之時，F.L.X. Hospitality旗下的兩家新門店幾近完工，開業在即，它還打算5月再開設四家。貝茨的一家F.L.X. Fry Bird新餐館才剛在2月開業，生意做得有聲有色。
“說實話，我們遭遇的仿佛是山崩海嘯，無可阻擋。在多個州紛紛開始停擺后，我們就招架不住了。更甚的是，這波沖擊還沒達到最高峰，直至我們所在的州也開始停擺。”貝茨說道，“無論我們有多努力，也無濟于事，計劃總是趕不上變化。”
3月15日，紐約州州長安德魯·庫默宣布，紐約州所有餐飲場所僅允許外帶或外賣，禁止堂食。貝茨說，聽到這一消息后，他當場哭了。但他得冷靜下來，給經理們逐個發短信，通知他們準備好關店一段時間。然后，他開車前往旗下的餐館，一家一家地跑，去當面與經理們說明狀況，并向團隊發表講話。“我得在5個小時內告訴我的整個團隊，我不再能夠為他們提供工作了。”貝茨稱，“這是我一生中最艱難的一天。”
在3月中旬停擺之后，貝茨的團隊決定嘗試讓Fry Bird繼續營業，提供外帶餐食，同時增加外賣服務。貝茨讓團隊中最可靠的幾個成員留下來幫忙，約定先試著營業一周看看。生意一天比一天忙碌。每一天，他們都能多招回一名團隊成員。3月15日停擺當天，貝茨的餐飲集團才剛剛完成F.L.X. Provisions的擴建，增設了一間品酒室和一間美食貯藏室。這家店原來打算兩天后正式開業——后來確實開業了，只不過沒有按照原來的計劃。在該團隊倉促準備一番后，開業的變成了Super Secret Wine Shop紅酒店。
Fry Bird的銷售狀況一直起伏不定，貝茨坦言生意有所下滑，但也指出情況并沒有非常糟糕。“我們盡力而為，嚴格管理經營效率，順應市場環境的變化。總的來說，我們保住了一些團隊成員的工作了，算對公司負責了，也沒有嚴重影響我們應對這場危機的能力。”然而，Super Secret Wine Shop的生意則節節高升。這家紅酒店擁有新的、更加寬敞的空間，也得益于SLA（服務級別協議）的變動得以出售更多的品類。貝茨說，該店反而給他和他的團隊帶來了多得多的機會，同時也帶來了經營彈性，讓他們可以做一些他們從未做過的事情。
“政府宣布全面停擺的那個星期一，我們對整個團隊進行了裁員，并削減了所有可削減的開支項目。”貝茨說，“我想，為了確保我們能夠挺過這場危機，我們必須得那么做。一切要看這場危機持續多久——我們一度要撐不下去了——但所幸我們迅速作出了應對，為自己爭取了一點喘息的時間。那些決定確保我們有機會在疫情結束后重建那些工作崗位，重新吸引游客光顧，并最終重整我們的經濟狀況。”
F.L.X. Hospitality申請了薪資保護項目的援助，但和許多其它的申請者一樣，該公司也在等待獲批。“考慮到債務免除和償還方面的指引仍然沒有明確，即使能夠在未來幾周內拿到那筆救助金，你也會安不下心來。”貝茨說道。
會恢復如前嗎？
對于餐飲業是否將會恢復如前，貝茨稱不好說，現在預測還言之過早。“我個人覺得，我們作為人需要與別人面對面接觸。我希望，最終我們將會變得想要更多地與他人連接溝通——不再在跟人吃飯時埋頭玩手機，而是與我們周圍的人連接互動。”這正是他其中的一家餐館F.L.X. Table的主打模式：一家由14人組成的主廚菜單餐廳，靈感來自一次晚宴。他希望，疫情結束后我們都會有那樣的渴望。
“人們正在認識到，社交上的匱乏與營養上的匱乏沒有什么不同：二者都是我們所渴望和需要的東西。”貝茨稱，“盡管如此，我們的‘常態’現在每天都在變化。目前來看，下周的情況還不得而知，所以對我們來說，預測下個月的情況就是在浪費時間。”
紐約的餐飲場所被告知堂食禁令至少要持續到5月15日，紐約北部縣區的餐館屆時或許能重新開放，相較之下，紐約市內的餐館則預計還要等待很長一段時間才能開放。貝茨坦稱，鑒于還有幾周就到了，這或許是件好事。但他也指出，怕就怕在重新開放時消費者的信心還沒有恢復過來。因此，他打算至少等到6月15日以后才讓旗下的餐館全面恢復開放。“我很清楚，現在的情況可能會持續更長的時間，但考慮到現在還有那么多影響著我們的事情需要關注和思考，過多的猜測也無濟于事。”貝茨說道。
貝茨仍然心存樂觀。“一旦我們從悲傷和沮喪情緒中走出來，開始去做我們平常會做的事情——創造——我每天早上醒來都會十分興奮。”他說，“我等不及要做電子表格，試驗這樣那樣的新主意了，也等不及要接觸外面的人尋求建立合作了。”
Villaggio Italiano比薩餅店的團隊已經開始考慮重新開放后需要如何改變經營模式了。首先，餐廳內要削減30%的餐桌，以確保顧客之間能夠保持安全距離。其次，為每張餐桌配備洗手液供人們使用，安排人手勤換餐桌布，使用多種清潔劑，確保盡量減少或清除餐廳內的任何塑料。
“我個人認為，任何時候不管發生什么改變生活的重大事情，人們都會出現暫時性的變化，但最終都會變回原來那樣。”馬塔拉佐指出，“我想，這一次影響非常巨大，所以人們恢復起來需要一定的時日，可能要過幾個月人們才會重新變回往常那樣。至于我們的員工是否會佩戴手套和口罩，要看醫療部門和政府下放的通知。”
從長遠來看，馬塔拉佐預計外賣和外帶訂單會增加，而堂食業務則可能要在餐廳重新開放后很長一段時間才恢復正常。“我們只能根據目前的情況做出這一預測，希望一切都能盡快好轉。”她表示，“我知道我代表著我自己和我的員工，我們想說的是，我們都期待著能夠再次擁抱每一個人。”
布魯爾承認，轉向啤酒店模式“一開始只是孤注一擲，”但后來卻成了救命稻草，盡管可能只是暫時性的。他們寄望于依靠那種模式撐到恢復正常營業，布魯爾對目前的成功也非常滿意，雖然不算很成功。未來轉回正常的經營模式以后，他很可能會繼續提供和宣傳外帶特色酒品。
然而，在布魯爾看來，人們將需要一段時間才能像往常那樣放心前往公共的社會環境，對于餐飲場所的經理們來說這將會是一個不小的挑戰。“畢竟，外出和身處充斥著陌生人的封閉空間，已經成了一個不正常的想法了。”他說，“該死的，在居家隔離和保持社交距離的時期，就連與人握手都讓人感覺很怪異，很陌生。”
布魯爾稱，短期來看，他的酒吧必須得繼續推進法律允許的業務：銷售外帶啤酒。然而，他覺得現在生存都成問題，根本談不上長期發展。“我們這些小商戶有很多都沒有足夠的現金儲備或創收渠道來繼續抗爭，哪怕債務償還可以延期，債務也終究還是債務。”布魯爾指出，“如果這種情況再持續六個月，那我們必定要關門大吉。就這么簡單。”（財富中文網）
譯者：萬志文
With takeout and delivery as the only means of business for most restaurants and bars still open across the United States, owners of these independent establishments have found themselves forced to get desperately creative to ride out the coronavirus pandemic.
From coast to coast, many restaurants have added grocery sections to their online menus, selling à la carte pantry items such as rice, beans, olive oil, salt, bread, dips, salad dressings, and even butcher cuts of meat and fish. Prices might be higher on average at these restaurants turned larder purveyors than those at your local grocery store or even the corner convenience shop. But many of these eateries are trading on the hopes that customers will respond to both the particular culinary expertise these locations offer as well as the loyalty of its customer base.
Chef Curtis Stone’s Gwen Butcher Shop & Restaurant in Hollywood, for example, shifted to a marketplace model with a focus on select meat cuts, and his 24-seat fine dining space, Maude, in Beverly Hills, has a brand-new menu catering to families, with rotating items including a fully brined and organic spatchcocked chicken with whole grain mustard spaetzle, a lasagna Bolognese, and a spring vegan platter.
“It’s important to keep pushing ourselves just as we did under normal circumstances,” Stone tells Fortune. “We’ll keep going as long as we have the patronage of our guests. It’s been wonderful to be in a position to serve the community and see our loyal regulars from the dining room and new friends, who are stopping by and picking up items to show their support.”
In the past, selling off existing inventory as wholesale products was typically a way for restaurants to avoid food waste. Very few establishments have taken this a step further by continuing to retail these items in addition to providing takeout services, according to Rachel Hyland, a senior analyst at market research firm IBISWorld. But while only a minority of restaurants are going this route, the concept has increased in popularity throughout the pandemic.
“Most operators that were retailing their goods have already closed, shutting their door once their inventory was depleted,” says Hyland. “Operators that are sustaining this retail model are likely to continue so long as there is enough demand to warrant the costs of remaining open.”
However, most restaurant operators won’t be able to do enough volume in a small footprint to make food staples a sustainable business, warns David Portalatin, a food industry advisor at The NPD Group. "It’s the reason why convenience stores today are all emphasizing higher margin prepared foods," he explains. "We are seeing blurring of channel lines in food service and retail as restaurants seek out retailers as outlets for prepared food as well as selling staples, like take-and-bake items or other components to help consumers prepare a meal. We may see more hybrid models emerge post-pandemic, but these are really stop-gap measures for restaurants now."
All Time, a popular neighborhood restaurant in the Los Feliz district of Los Angeles, is selling “grocery survival kits,” curated by dietary preference, for vegetarians, pescatarians, and meat eaters. For $250, the vegetarian box includes eggs, dry pasta, dry rice, potatoes, kale, bread, olive oil, Parmesan cheese, coffee, hot sauce, a taco kit, the choice of dairy or , and two rolls of toilet paper.
“We have such immense access to the best stuff around, from meat to produce and everything in between, so we knew we had to make these items available directly to our community, and also continue to support our longtime vendors as much as possible,” says co-owner Ashley Wells.
She and her husband (and co-owner), Tyler, have completely reengineered the operation—both in what they offer and in the way they conduct business. Payment transactions are no longer conducted in person; everything is now exclusively ordered online. And no guests are allowed to come inside the restaurant; everyone—employees and patrons—must wear masks.
“The business model is almost unrecognizable now,” Tyler says. “Our biggest challenges were keeping up and maintaining our high standards of both service and product quality in the midst of being a very busy neighborhood restaurant. It’s funny, because we got plunged into the world of takeaway just as we were really diving into some R&D for this very model, and thinking about how we could best serve the neighborhood with takeaway offerings as All Time is really a dine-in restaurant.”
While many restaurateurs have been forced to sell off all existing inventory just to stay afloat, Christopher Bates— founder of five restaurants in New York’s Finger Lakes region within his F.L.X. Hospitality group—drummed up a new line of revenue during this uncertain period. With the recent change in New York State liquor laws allowing restaurants to sell wine out of their dining rooms, Bates converted one of his restaurants into a full retail shop (called the Super Secret Wine Shop) with a bottle list he hand selects (Bates is a master sommelier) for curbside pickup, local delivery, and shipping nationwide.
“I figured, even if it doesn’t work, we might as well be ready for when we are allowed to reopen, Bates says. Since then, the wine shop has grown with new offerings (like Blind Tasting Boxes), which have proved popular with customers, enabling Bates to bring back more employees. Sales have been so high that Bates needed to purchase new inventory and expand his selection to meet demand.
“Honestly, at first, my reaction [to the shutdown] was rooted in anger and frustration, and then survival mode kicked in. And that helped,” Bates says. “It’s what we restaurateurs are good at: survival, adaptation, innovation. And as we went through those states, excitement began to build.”
Prior to the coronavirus shutdowns, there were approximately a million restaurants open nationwide—an estimated half of which are independently owned—with roughly 15.6 million employees, according to the National Restaurant Association. And nine in 10 restaurants had fewer than 50 employees. Overall, restaurants generate $880 billion per year in revenue and account for 4% of the nation’s GDP, according to the Independent Restaurant Coalition (IRC), a grass-roots movement among chefs and restaurant managers that formed in March.
But after shelter-in-place mandates were implemented along with the closure of nonessential businesses across the country, starting in California the week of March 9, the restaurant industry has been nothing short of decimated. The food service industry is expected to lose more than $50 billion in sales in April alone, and more than 8 million restaurant employees have been laid off or furloughed during the pandemic as of April 16. The IRC estimates that figure will grow to 11 million as the current economic crisis drags on.
Robyn Matarazzo, co-owner of Villaggio Italiano in Westchester County, N.Y., also implemented a variety of initiatives to adapt to these changes. The 42-year-old, family-run eatery is now offering DIY pizza kits, so families can make their own pizzas at home, as well as meal packages complete with all the ingredients for a restaurant-style experience.
Matarazzo explains the restaurant came up with the DIY pizza kits in response to parents being home with their kids and needing something more to occupy their time. “We saw so many posts on social media about parents pulling their hair out, and we wanted to help contribute to keeping their kids busy,” she says. Villaggio Italiano sells approximately 10 to 15 kits per day for $10 each. Each kit comes with enough dough for a small pie along with mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce.
“It was so cute when customers started tagging us in their photos of the completed pies,” Matarazzo adds.
Matarazzo accepted the shutdown on in-restaurant dining because she says she knew that the measures were to stop the spread of COVID-19. At the same time, she knew it was going to substantially hurt the business financially as well as the pizzeria’s employees, but she stresses health comes before everything.
“The first few days of this new normal were very upsetting,” Matarazzo recalls. “To furlough staff, to see the drop in business, to know that employees that have worked with us for 15 to 30 years may not have a job was heartbreaking, but these were things that were out of our control, and we had to figure out how to operate under the new laws quickly.”
Sales dropped the first few days over 80%, Matarazzo notes, and the pizzeria had to let go 80% of its staff as well. The business halted all advertising, and the restaurant has been ordering less from vendors. But as time went on, the bottom line improved.
Right now, Villaggio Italiano still has two chefs, two additional pizza cooks, one person answering phones, and three delivery drivers. Delivery has picked up so much that Villaggio Italiano added two more drivers. “The phone rings off the hook, which we are eternally grateful for, and a lot of our customers are coming to pick up food, saying hellos and well wishes from a distance,” Matarazzo says.
Matarazzo admits the restaurant never wanted to push gift cards—which emerged in the early days of the shutdown as a quick way for restaurants to generate cash—because she was cognizant of customers also losing their jobs. “We decided to just operate to the best of our ability and see what happens, because there was nothing that we could do to change the situation at the moment,” she explains.
Bars and restaurants in Kentucky were restricted to takeout, curbside pickup, and food deliveries the same week as New York State.
“Being a music venue and bar, we were dead in the water overnight,” says Seth Brewer, co-owner of Al’s Bar in Lexington, Ky.
Brewer says he and his business partner, Tim Small, took stock of how they could legally continue to operate and found that they could not: Kentucky State liquor laws had not yet been relaxed to allow restaurants and bars that serve food to sell alcohol to-go. There was a kitchen on-site, but it was in the final stages of a remodel, and Al’s wasn’t selling any food before the shutdown, so it could not pivot to food sales to make up for lost sales of alcohol.
What was worse, because of local governmental safety measures, Brewer says, they couldn’t get the kitchen inspected by the health department to roll out the backup plan, which was bringing in some restaurant colleagues who had lost their jobs to start selling food. “[It] would have given our friends some sort of an income, and would have given us a vehicle by which to comply with the executive order that permitted establishments selling food to sell drinks along with the food,” Brewer says.
Thus, sales flatlined—initially. But when Brewer and Small took another look at the tools at their disposal, they realized they had an asset: a beer package license, which had previously seemed like a nuisance to implement. Al’s Bar became Al’s Beer Store overnight.
“We realized we could become a beer store, so that’s what we did,” Brewer explains. “One of us has retail experience with a boutique bottle shop here in town, and with that knowledge of retail margins, and with the familiarity of the different beer distributors and their brands, we were able to turn our bar into a retail space.”
On a day-to day basis, the beer store has limited hours, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. (pre-pandemic, the bar was open from 5 p.m. through 2:30 a.m.), and the main bar has been converted into a display area for the beer being sold.
Initially, sales seemed to involve locals and regulars alone—those who wanted to do what they could to support the bar and its employees, according to Brewer. But as the weeks have worn on, those “sympathy tips” have diminished, and beer sales have been steady and increasing.
“We are satisfying a demand here in our neighborhood, selling mostly craft beer to a community that previously had to drive to get good beer or had to settle for whatever was available at the nearby gas stations,” Brewer says. “Customers have been asking us to keep doing this on the other end of COVID.”
It’s not just mom-and-pop stops making dramatic changes. Panera Bread has redirected hundreds of its locations nationwide from catering to the lunchtime rush to selling kitchen staples. Beyond bread and bagels, Panera Grocery is selling produce and dairy items (from gallons of milk to Greek yogurt) for pickup and contactless delivery.
This is fully national, and participation includes franchisees and owned stores. Panera has approximately 2,200 locations nationwide, 15% of which have temporarily closed. Nearly every open café is participating. Of the remaining locations—just under 1,900—95% of them are fulfilling Panera Grocery orders.
"As the virus hit, we knew we needed to do more for our customers and their shifting needs," says Panera CEO Niren Chaudhary. "Today, people everywhere are struggling to find essential items, secure timely grocery delivery options due to high demand and are looking to limit the amount of stops they make when doing essential errands."
As time goes on, Chaudhary says Panera Grocery hopes to expand the program further and make even more grocery staples available to customers. As for whether Panera Grocery is kept around for the long-term, beyond the pandemic, nothing has been ruled out yet. "We will as always follow the consumer—it all depends on if our consumers continue to see value in having these grocery essentials available as we get to the other side of this crisis."
There’s no secret sauce to survival
But these aren’t overnight success stories. Silicon Valley unicorns might make business model “pivots” seem natural, but successful ones are few and far between.
As the slower winter season was coming to a close, F.L.X. Hospitality had been in the midst of finishing construction and opening two new locations, with four more expected in May. Bates had just opened a new location for his F.L.X. Fry Bird restaurant in February, and business had been going well.
“Honestly, it was such a landslide, so it wasn’t until they began closing states that the situation was solid enough to digest. Even then it didn’t really settle in until they closed our [state],” Bates says. “No matter how on top of it we tried to be, we couldn’t make plans fast enough.”
When Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on March 15 that New York State restaurants would be able to offer only takeout or delivery, Bates says he began to cry. After texting with his managers to prepare shutting down for an unknown period, he drove from restaurant to restaurant, to speak with the managers personally and then address the team. “I had to tell my entire team in a five-hour span that I no longer had work for them,” Bates says. “It was the hardest day of my life.”
Following the shutdown in mid-March, the team decided to try to keep Fry Bird open for takeout, and added delivery. Bates asked a few of his most reliable team members to stay on, and promised to give it a go for a week. Every day grew busier. Every day, they brought another team member back. The hospitality group had just finished the final touches on the newly expanded F.L.X. Provisions space, including a tasting room and a gourmet goods pantry, on the day of the shutdown on March 15. The establishment had been scheduled to open two days later—and it did. But not as originally planned. The team scrambled, and the Super Secret Wine Shop opened instead.
Sales at Fry Bird have continued to fluctuate, and Bates admits business is down, but he says it’s not as down as it could be: “We just try and stay tight on efficiencies and roll with the punches. Overall, we have been able to keep some of the team employed, be responsible to the business, and not jeopardize our ability to weather this crisis.” Business at the Super Secret Wine Shop, however, has skyrocketed. Between the new, larger space and expanded set of offerings the shop is allowed to sell because of SLA (service-level agreement) changes, Bates says there is far more opportunity as well as the flexibility to do things he and his team have never done before.
“We cut our entire team and shut down every expense the Monday of the shutdown announcement,” Bates says. “I think that was absolutely imperative for us in ensuring that we are able to survive this crisis. Depending on how long this lasts—there is a point at which we won’t be able to do so—but, thankfully, because of that reaction, we have a bit of time we can weather this. Those decisions ensured that, on the other side of this, we can rebuild those jobs, the tourism draw, and eventually, the economy around us.”
F.L.X. Hospitality has applied for assistance from the Paycheck Protection Program, but like many other applicants, the company is awaiting approval. “Even if the funding comes through in the coming weeks, the guidelines on forgiveness and repayment are still not clarified, making taking that money terrifying,” Bates says.
The way we were
Bates isn’t sure if restaurants will go back to the way things were, speculating it’s still too early to predict. “Personally, I believe we need contact as people. I hope the outcome is that we want to connect more—no more being on our phones during dinner, but actually engaging those around us, Bates says, underscoring the model for one of his restaurants, F.L.X. Table: a 14-person chef’s menu restaurant inspired by a dinner party. He hopes that’s what we all come out of this craving.
“People are learning that social deficiency is no different than a nutrient deficiency: It’s something we crave and need,” Bates says. “That being said, our ‘normal’ changes every day right now. For now, next week’s news is unknown, so trying to predict next month is simply a game in wasting time for us.”
Restaurants in New York have been told dining rooms are shut down through at least May 15, and that may come to pass for restaurants in upstate counties, compared with New York City, which is expected to be on a much longer timeline to reentry. And while Bates admits that might be great given that it’s only a couple of weeks away, he says the worst thing would be to reopen before customer confidence is rebuilt. Instead, he doesn’t plan for a full reopening before June 15, at least. “I am well aware it can go longer than that, but it does no good to speculate when there are so many things that need attention and thought that affect us today,” Bates says.
Still, Bates remains optimistic. “Once we got over the sadness and depression, and began doing what we do—creating—I wake up every morning excited,” he says. “I can’t wait to make this spreadsheet, or try this new idea, or reach out to these people about a collaboration.”
The team at Villaggio Italiano have already started to think about how the business model needs to change upon reopening, starting with removing 30% of tables in the dining room to enable more physical distancing between patrons. There will also be hand sanitizer on each table available for people to use in addition to staff changing linens more frequently, using different cleaners, and making sure to minimize or do away with any plastic in the dining room.
“My personal opinion is that whenever something life-changing happens, people change temporarily and eventually go back to what they know,” Matarazzo says. “I think this has been so impactful that it will take time, maybe even several months, and you will see people go back to their normal routines again. Depending on medical and governmental updates will determine whether our staff will be in gloves and masks.”
As far as the long term, Matarazzo expects to ramp up delivery and takeout, while understanding in-restaurant dining might be slow for quite some time after reopening. “We can only base this on the present circumstances and hope that things get better in time,” she says. “I know I speak for myself and my staff, we look forward to hugging everyone again.”
While he admits that the pivot to running a beer shop “started off as an act of desperation,” Brewer says that the solution—however temporary it might be—was the lifesaver. While the hope is to go back to service by the drink, Brewer is pleased with the success—albeit mild—so far, and will likely continue to provide and advertise to-go specials once back to regular service.
Nevertheless, Brewer thinks it’s going to take some time for people to get back to trusting a public, social environment, and it’s going to be tough for managers to navigate that. “The nature of going out and being around strangers in an enclosed space is an odd concept already,” he says. “Hell, with the isolation and social conditioning, even the act of shaking someone’s hand now seems bizarre and alien.”
In the short term, Brewer says the bar has to keep pushing what the business is legally able to do: selling beers to-go. However, he argues, there simply isn’t a long-term view right now. “So many of us small-business owners don’t have the cash reserves or revenue options to keep fighting this, and even with deferment of payments and hoping for the best, debt down the road is still debt,” Brewer says. “If this goes on for another six months, we’re closed. It’s as simple as that.”
