World-Renowned Chef Daniel Boulud Shares His Recipe for Success Amid Covid-19

I’ve been watching the restaurant industry for the past six months. I’m not an expert in that industry, but I know plenty of people who are, both owners and consultants. At least weekly, if not daily, I read about the decimation of the industry. How restaurants are going under. How they can’t make payroll. How they have been forced to shut down, then reopen, then ordered to reduce the number of guests they can serve. Then they are only allowed to operate through carry-out and delivery. Then they get to reopen, then close, then open again if they can serve outside, then … you get the idea. This has been a rollercoaster for the industry.

I share this with you, not only to support the industry and encourage you to visit your favorite restaurants often, but also to show you how one of the leaders in the industry is demonstrating an unprecedented level of flexibility, creativity and determined grit. The ideas and lessons this icon in the industry shared in the wake of a destructive pandemic can help any business.

First, a little background. Different cities have different rules. Some restaurants are able to open up, while others are forced to continue carry-out and delivery services. Some have been forced to cut back their capacity by 25%, 50% and more—if they are allowed to be open at all. In an industry where margins are typically thin to begin with, being forced to cut your customer count lower than a breakeven point means losing money and potentially going out of business. It’s tough and I truly feel for the restaurateurs and their employees who work hard to give all of us a great experience.

Throughout the pandemic, many restaurants have extended their dining rooms outdoors—on sidewalks, and in some cases, the streets. But what happens when it gets too cold to sit outside? If inside capacity continues to have restrictions, even having outside tables won’t help on cold winter nights.

Well, it’s October, and in many parts of the country, it’s starting to get cold. So, I did some research and connected with Daniel Boulud, the world-famous chef who lives in New York and has restaurants throughout the world. He is an example of what happens when you combine culinary expertise with business acumen. Talented in the kitchen as well as the office, Boulud has navigated the COVID-19 crisis as well as any savvy business executive.

It’s a business: The restaurant business is two words … restaurant and business. The restaurant side is about the food and service, and the business side is about getting a guest to walk through your doors—and then getting that guest to come back again and again. The lesson: A great chef, if he or she wants to run a successful restaurant, must understand the job isn’t just to cook delicious food. It’s to get and keep customers. This holds true for any business. Regardless of what you do or sell, if you don’t have customers, you don’t have a business.

Community support creates publicity and jobs: In the New York crisis response, all dining was shut down on March 13. Just over a month later, Boulud jumped in to support Food 1st to help create up to 2,000 meals a day while offering jobs to laid off workers, including his own team. This initiative gave him much-needed exposure in the community for both the charity and his brand. The lesson: When business is slow, find ways to keep your name in front of your customers and your city.

Pivot: A month after that, May 20, Boulud started a curbside concept, Daniel Boulud Kitchen. Yes, many restaurants shifted to curbside service, but how many were fine-dining restaurants known as much for their five-star service as their Michelin star award-winning food? Imagine taking the highest level of fine dining and turning it into curbside service. Yet, you do what you must to survive. Chauffeur-driven customers would roll up to the restaurant to enjoy Chef Boulud’s world-famous culinary skills. Some of the customers would actually enjoy their meals from their cars instead of going home. (Can someone pass me some Grey Poupon?) The lesson: Find alternatives to the traditional ways you’ve always done business.

Think outside the box … or the restaurant: On July 8 Daniel Boulud Kitchen at the Terrace opened for outdoor dining in front of his flagship restaurant, Daniel, and Bar Boulud. This brought back even more employees. While the move to outdoor dining may not have been as quick as other restaurants, Chef Boulud was very careful to ensure that his well-known quality and service were not diminished in the less-controlled outdoor environment. And as the weather changes, they will add tents and heaters, complying with the limited capacity restrictions while maintaining their outdoor dining on cold days and evenings. The lesson: Don’t be constrained by the boundaries you’ve always had. Consider expanding beyond your “four walls.”

Partner with others: Recently, Daniel Boulud Kitchen expanded nationwide by partnering with Goldbelly, an online store offering high-end food selections. Now Boulud’s French classic recipes are in meal kits for the world to prepare at home. “With much of the country still at home and unable to travel, we want Daniel Boulud Kitchen to be accessible to people everywhere to enjoy a celebratory meal at home,” said Chef Boulud. Prior to the pandemic, mail-order gourmet food was mostly offered during the holidays. But unique times call for unique decisions. Finding the right partner was important. The collaboration with Goldbelly presented another way to expand Boulud’s empire beyond brick-and-mortar restaurants. By the way, even more employees were brought back to work. The lesson: Consider other businesses to partner with, creating a win/win for all involved—the partners as well as the customers.

Chef Boulud and his CEO, Sebastien Silvestri, have demonstrated creativity outside of the kitchen to keep his business moving forward and his guests coming back. He’s even considering a food truck featuring some of his guests’ favorite dishes. Will it happen? That’s yet to be seen, but the point is that all creative ideas are considered. Boulud says, “With many restaurants, including ours, having to close or be forced to limited capacities, we’ve found opportunities to evolve with new experiences for our guests and keep many of our team members employed through the COVID-19 pandemic.”

In the face of the pandemic and the colder weather that is coming to much of the nation—or any circumstance that is out of our control—what will restaurants do? Where will their customers go? Consider how creative businesspeople/chefs are figuring it out. No doubt there will be “casualties” as some restaurants aren’t able to adapt to the outside circumstances impacting their businesses. The ones that do figure it out—and survive—will be the case-studies, not just for the restaurant business, but for all businesses. And they will be the restaurants we’ll be enjoying throughout this winter and beyond.

Shep Hyken is a customer service and experience expert, New York Times bestselling author, award-winning keynote speaker, and the host of the Amazing Business Radio podcast. Learn about Shep's virtual customer service training at shepardvirtualtraining.com.

This article originally appeared on Forbes.com.