Things I Know Now That I Didn’t Know Pre-COVID
The one-year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic’s aggressive foothold in the United States is fast approaching. A year of cancelled plans, shuttered restaurant dining rooms, and missed celebrations with friends; of postponed weddings, remote schooling, and working from home. On this day in 2020, none of us knew what we were in store for, but we could tell that this was not like SARS or Ebola — illnesses covered at length in the media, but with little impact on our day-to-day lives. I first knew that this was serious when SXSW was cancelled just a week before it was due to begin. We had many more questions about the virus…
What Will Make Restaurant Guests Feel Safe During COVID-19?
About two weeks ago, my husband and I went out to lunch. It was only the second time we’d gone out for a meal since March. We chose a local restaurant that we like with plenty of outdoor seating, so it felt like a pretty safe option. When we went to the bar to place our order, the bartender was serving another customer. She took the customer’s card, swiped it on the POS, and returned it. She then rang in our orders and ran our credit card, before getting our drinks. I ordered an iced tea, and the bartender used her (unwashed) hand to add a lemon. She also passed…
The Must-Know Restaurant Industry Statistics for June 2020
Coming as a surprise to exactly no one, the restaurant industry is in a tough position. Hospitality (including restaurants, bars, hotels, and tourism) has been hit harder by the crisis than any other industry. And with new cases of the virus back on the rise, the trouble may have only just begun. With things changing so rapidly, I’ve put together a list of restaurant industry statistics to create a snapshot of the current situation. If you want to skip the numbers and just get to some takeaways, hop down to the bottom of the post for some key insights. Restaurant Industry Statistics From February 24th to June 24th, on-premise restaurant…
We can reopen restaurants. Here’s why we should not.
Across the country, states are allowing retail stores, movie theaters, and restaurants to reopen with restrictions in place to prevent the further spread of COVID-19. And while retail may be able to make the necessary adjustments to minimize risks, the nature of restaurants makes reopening a dangerous proposition. On a state level, new cases of the novel coronavirus have not been consistently going down, as this graph from the New York Times shows. And on a national level, more Americans have died from the coronavirus in the past three months than from the entire Vietnam War. So is this really the time to put groups of people into enclosed spaces…
Resources for Restaurant Relief During COVID-19
Times have never been more uncertain for the restaurant, event, hotel, and hospitality industries. With dining rooms closed and people encouraged to stay at home, restaurateurs have found that staying afloat requires a Herculean effort. Unfortunately, from my position on the periphery of the industry, there isn’t much I can do to help. All I can do is share whatever information I have with anyone who will read it. So I’ve put together a list of resources to help independent restaurant owners during this crazy time. Some are grant and relief funds and some are discounts that may be helpful. They may not be huge savings on their own, but…
Remote Work Tips in the Time of COVID-19
Remote work can be lonely. Long hours of solitude and no one to bond with can contribute to depression and other mental health issues. Still, for many of us, the benefits of working at home outweigh the challenges. So we’re willing to figure out how to make it work. But now we’re in this bizarre situation where people who had no intention of becoming remote workers are stuck at home, trying to do their part to prevent the spread of COVID-19. While it sometimes sounds fun to work from home, the current state of affairs is jarring for those who weren’t prepared for it. And the lack of a schedule,…
SXSW Canceled – The View From Austin
For the first time in 34 years, SXSW is canceled. Concerns about COVID-19 have led the City of Austin to shut down the annual festival one week before it was due to begin. Is it the brave and responsible action of a city concerned for the safety of its citizens, at the cost of hundreds of millions of dollars in the local economy? Or is it a weak capitulation to an overblown media frenzy, compounded by the signatures of 50,000 frightened people? In either case, it must have been an agonizing decision to make, and I’m glad I wasn’t the one to make it. As hard as SXSW has tried…
