Restaurants: Coping with Coronavirus

I'm a big fan of french food generally - years of travelling there for work and holidays means show me a good steak-frites, a tarte aux pommes, and a nice red wine and I'll be happy. In the UK this means if I am out and about and there isn't a good local restaurant to go to I'll probably head for one of our French chains.

And sadly in a post-lockdown world that opportunity space has shrunk a lot. Cafe Rouge, as part of the Casual Dining Group, went into administration and were saved only with the loss of 91 restaurants. Bistrot Pierre also underwent a prepack administration and lost about 25% of its restaurants.

I wanted to highlight here the difference to the third French restaurant chain in the UK - C?te - because they are a great example of how a company coped with Coronavirus by doing something different. When their restaurants shut they introduced the concept of C?te at Home - providing not just ready meals but a full range of meat, dairy, breads and drinks. This immediately met the needs of people who didn't want to head to supermarkets too often, and the ready meals (including lobster and duck dishes) offered a dining out experience when restaurants were closed.

By doing this they've not only survived Coronavirus when their competitors struggled they've given themselves a more diverse offering that can only help in future - and they intend to keep doing this. They have also probably attracted new customers via this service who will be more likely to visit a restaurant.

I'm biased admittedly as C?te were always my favourite and I'm on my 3rd food order from their home service but to me this illustrates the need for companies to think on their feet and adapt their business model quickly. If it's going to take you months to change direction you will suffer in a modern business world. Agility is key.