The Covid Pivot III: International Edition
Peter Martin made his reputation on the basis of his unmatched understanding of the dynamics of the restaurant business in the UK, an expertise that he has parlayed into an international practice. His Atlantic Club is an informal consortium of business leaders from across the global food-and-drink spectrum, and its broader perspective stood him in good stead as organizer and host of the recent webinar, Rebooting Restaurants and Bars: The Global Experience.
The program, in which I participated, brought together industry experts to share their insights on the international post-opening landscape.
Cautious consumers. Alexandra Martin, US Retail Services Director at Nielsen CGA, shared research from the US, UK and China that showed remarkable uniformity across markets. Consumers in all three countries put a premium on safety as they venture out, and they consistently voice the intention to throw their support behind local operators. Importantly, she reports, they do not see overt safety and sanitation efforts as negatively impacting their out-of-home experience.
In fact, smart operators can turn their health protocols and practices into a positive, as Luke Fryer, restaurateur in New York City and founder of the Harri people platform, pointed out. His workers, who undergo a regular checkup as they check in, receive an “employee health check today” sticker, which they wear as visible reassurance to both peers and patrons.
Incautious behaviors. While UK restaurants won’t open until July 4, an auspicious if not politically loaded coincidence with Independence Day here in the US, operators on these shores currently contend with dual challenges of local regulations and recalcitrant consumers. Yavuz Pehlivanlar is COO of leading-edge, multi-concept 50Eggs, and as he spoke, the cities of Miami and Las Vegas, two locales in which he does business, were mandating the wearing of face masks.
He acknowledges that this sets up a tricky short-term balancing act and forces restaurateurs to confront many customers who’ve thrown caution to the winds. As he looks beyond current disruption, Pehlivanlar believes that success in the longer term will require rebuilding brand trust and relevance in order to reengage both employees and patrons. And the winners, he says, must revamp the overall consumer experience for the post-takeout-and-delivery world.
Experience matters. Experience is also on the mind and the menus of Jason Berry, CEO of KNEAD Hospitality + Design, a stable of blue-chip concepts in Washington DC. Berry described restaurants as the only attractive entertainment venue available to pantry-fatigued, escapism-seeking customers, who’ve been cut off from their usual stream of summertime concerts, sporting events and cinematic blockbusters.
Philip Harrison, founder of the London-based international design consultancy that bears his name, knows a thing or two about escapism and the importance of the overall brand experience, as evidenced by his firm’s standout design for Mellow Mushroom in Beaumont, TX, an outpost of the pizza chain that combines an offbeat, creative menu with a fun, memorable atmosphere. It is the kind of concept that delivers on what David McDowall, group COO of multinational Brewdog, terms the “magic” of hospitality: It translates easily across borders and will be requisite to luring post-Covid patronage.