How to reopen a restaurant after coronavirus?

With the UK government’s COVID-19 restrictions due to be eased, your thoughts are probably preoccupied with your restaurant’s reopening, and for good reason – your restaurant is reopening into a strange new world of heightened safety expectations and different social norms. 

Just as you, a business owner, will be nervous about opening your doors for the first time in months, your customers will be hesitant to start socialising at venues and will be choosing to dine at those that allow them to do so safely.

It goes without saying that restaurants should be implementing the likes of separated tables, abiding by maximum occupation restrictions, and remaining vigilant with hygiene. However, here are a few extra suggestions to make your transition out of lockdown as smooth as possible.

Social distancing screens

Restaurants will be making larger tables, sitting customers apart, and increasing the space between different parties, but there’s more that they could be doing to make their lives easier and their diners feel safer. 

By using social distancing dividers that can be placed between tables, this extra precaution of physical separation will put your customers’ minds at great ease, giving the impression that yours is a restaurant taking safeguarding seriously.

At Twilight Trees we’ve taken this idea and run with it. We’ve not only created a range of screens that are ambient and atmospheric, but they also don’t restrict vision (maintaining sociability), are mobile and stackable, can incorporate your logo or colour scheme, and have a changeable design to complement seasonal aesthetics.

Screens are a much more hospitable and friendly alternative to industrial Perspex, which enables tables to be closer together, and when cover number restrictions relax, allows for greater cover density.

Use customer insights

Yumpingo allows restaurants to continuously observe, understand, and improve their business with customer insights. As a tool that can save your restaurant money and improve your service, Yumpingo draws out clear, actionable insights that can provide the reasoning behind your decision making. 

Your customers are likely to have lots of customer feedback during this strange and uncertain transition period. As your restaurant has never needed to adapt to the aftermath of a pandemic, insightful feedback from your customers should be important to you now more than ever. 

Strategic staffing

Restaurants across the country have suffered an economic blight over the lockdown period, with businesses not offering takeaway options hit even harder. It’s inevitable that restaurants will be looking to make their reopening as easy on the wallet as they can whilst delivering their usual excellent service, pleasing their customers, and doing right by their staff.

Nevertheless, times have changed and coronavirus may provide a new opportunity to protect your profits through your staffing. It is likely that many of your previous waiters and waitresses will not want to return to work in hospitality due to the risk of contracting coronavirus or be unable to do so for health reasons. Not only this, but a single workforce is likely to want the option to work flexibly if a family member becomes ill, they have care duties, are required to self-isolate, or if there is another national spike in coronavirus cases and they’d like the option to work as and when they feel it is safe for them to do so.

By using Stint, you can hire the right number of reputable staff to work in your restaurant at specific times. You’ll be matched with staff who want to be working, saving you money if new unforeseen spikes or regulations lead to quiet weeks where fewer staff are required.

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