The new normal going forward

I have been thinking, with all this talk about "reopening"...what is going to be the new normal? I don't know when, if ever, I will feel comfortable having an unmasked server bound up to my table and describe the special of the day. Are masks on servers going to be a universal requirement? What about those folks in the back rolling silverware? Shouldn't they be wearing masks too as they prepare my utensils and napkin? What happens if Chef comes out and walks around to greet the tables, shouldn't he have a mask on too? How close is too close to be comfortable with a dining room full of people, all who file in and out and past my table? We've all seen the viral spray displays showing how this spreads. I used to eat out at least a couple of times a week, enjoying a lazy table at Pho Cafe was one of my favorite things on earth, but I cannot imagine feeling comfortable like that without a lot of amendments to the protocol going forward. How do you clean a table between customers? What happens to those menus that get touched by every customer? That check tray that comes with a communal pen to sign? And God knows this breaks my heart...what about the Indian food buffets? I know the restaurant owners have been thinking about all this, I'd love to know what they see as the plan. Just a quarantine thought, as I look back on the old days with weepy nostalgia...

[Robin Garr]

That's a very good question, Mary Anne, and I hope we get some thoughtful responses, especially from people in the business.

I'm pretty sure that until we have a working vaccine and everyone had taken it, the new normal is not going to be like the old normal. Probably mass testing and aggressive tracking, too. This spells a very different world.

I can tell you this - even if I don't feel old, I know I'm a member of that higher-risk group, and even if they open the world back up again, I'm going to continue taking precautions until the vaccine is here, and I know that's going to take a year at least. So I'm afrait any return of the old normal is a long way off, if ever, at least for me.

This is a very important topic as we all look to (hopefully) get back up and running in the near future (please, Lord).

Personally, I can tell you in my restaurant we first going to pay very careful attention to what is being put forth by our federal agencies (CDC, FDA, USDA, etc.). Whatever standards they set or recommend are going to be the foundation of what our personal plan is going to look like. If that's masks, or gloves, or hazmat suits or whatever, then that is where we are going to start. If that means we can only fill to half capacity and tables need to be spaced further apart, fine, we'll adjust the floor plan.

From there we are going to give double attention to the details. Shelves that might not get wiped nightly, will get wiped nightly. Things that might not have been covered at the end of the night are going to get covered (I'm thinking equipment like mixers or slicers). Employees are going to get lockers (no exceptions) for their personal belongings (no more coat piles or cell phone bins). Employees are going to be more carefully monitored by the managerial staff for personal appearance and wellness. If you are not clean or are sick you are not working. (this will be death for a lot of employees who cannot afford to take a shift off, but this is where we are). Back of House staff aren't leaving back of house, plain and simple. Why should they? You wanna chat with the chef about the fish? Write her an email.

Training, particularly for front of house staff is going to now include better awareness of customer's individual needs. Does this guest seem uncomfortable with your proximity when taking an order? Learning to "read" customers is going to be more important than ever. Not every guest is going to care, but being able to recognize and address these kinds of concerns by paying attention to verbal and non-verbal clues is just a little bit of extra attention that will ultimately improve the overall guest experience.

I'm sure there are myriad more things we are going to have to do, but this is where we are starting.

I'll not sugar coat it, ambience in restaurants during the early days of "coming out of the Age of Corona" isn't going to be very good. Plainly, it's going to be a bit awkward and the casual, friendly level of service we all enjoyed in the past is going to be a shadow of its former self. But we are in a time when we have to put guest safety ahead of quaint and kitschy service. You wouldn't excuse faulty electrical wiring in your restaurant and explain it away as part of the place's "charm" even if it could potentially electrocute a guest. (well, most places wouldn't, I recall the cockroach races at Ginny's Diner being touted as ambience...) This is the same thing, only with an invisible virus instead of obvious infrastructural issues.

We'll be figuring it out as we go along, but the main thing is that we can get back to work and do what we love. We just want to make sure we are doing it right.

[Robin Garr]

Thanks for the inside view, Ronnie. Good stuff. I want to know this in particular, because I plan to be out there beating the drum as loud as I can for (1) safety and (2) SUPPORT YER LOCAL RESTAURANT! Your credible information, and others to come, can help me with that.

Posting on this thread as I wonder if this will be a new normal. I high end restaurant is closing and permanently going to a meal-kit model. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/28/dining/super-fat-rice-mart-chicago-coronavirus.html

It makes sense in a few ways in that some people will be reluctant to dine as they used to not just in the coming months, but possibly for years. Also, restaurants seem to benefit from the "buy local" movement as much as any business, but most (all?) meal kits companies are national operations. I'm very curious to see if others follow this model and, if so, how successful it will be.

The 2020 Census is projected to show 4.6 million people residing in Kentucky.
1% of 4.6 million is 46,000. Thus far, 240 people have died in Kentucky from corona-RELATED conditions. That is less than 1% of the 1%.

This has been, and remains, a serious matter that should be regarded and treated seriously. Those who are physically more vulnerable and those who are hopeless germophobes will likely maintain a certain level of seclusion as they see fit for themselves.

Folks, stores like Staples, Trader Joes, Walmart, Walgreens, and gas stations like Thortons, Speedway, and food places like Quedobas and Chipotle have had continual traffic since day one (I've been to them all, including inside a Chipotles 2 days ago). Customers use their common sense, they keep their distance, they follow procedures, while the workers have improved ways for maintaining their own safety.

Restaurants that demonstrate good safety measures that is evident to clients who come in once they start opening seating to the public, will do fine. Perhaps 10% of the population will not even dare to go out while 90% will slowly go about their business. Most 20-40 yr olds are chomping at the bit to get out and do anything w/o any fear (I'm not in that category, but also a realist).

Trader Joes keeps small sanitizer spray bottle behind the counter. They'll give two per customer if you request them. Keep a bottle in your car and/or your pocket. Most of us will be ok.

The 2020 Census is projected to show 4.6 million people residing in Kentucky.
1% of 4.6 million is 46,000. Thus far, 240 people have died in Kentucky from corona-RELATED conditions. That is less than 1% of the 1%.

Of those 240, 75% were over 70 and 51% over 70.

https://kygeonet.maps.arcgis.com/apps/o ... 34dc40e334

Please note that I posited whether it would be a new normal, not the new normal, meaning one way that things might alter. Of course restaurants will return (those that can) for the most part, but this is one that has changed it's approach as a direct results of the pandemic. I'm just wondering aloud, not endorsing it. I've never even had a meal kit.

In addition to the reasons I gave as to why it might work, another is that, if this place is successful, it will be insulated from economic harm when (not if) the next threat comes around. After we get through this, the next hint of another threat could cause some people to overreact and take distancing measures early. Even if 10% are overly cautious the next time around, that is more than enough to hit the bottom line of a dine-in restaurant.

My two cents as a combination industry insider/monitor:

Ronnie's right about the need to overhaul customer service in the coming year. My hope is that independent operations will take advantage of their nimbleness to create a new approach to hospitality long before chains can. More importantly, I hope they help other locals by sharing their innovations and tricks.

Outside of dining, I think the industrial food chain we've created might suffer greatly. I had just started reading Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma as quarantine orders came down which led to a front-of-mind thinking about the issue. Recent announcements of processing plant closures proved the importance of the issue. The obvious conclusion is a greater focus on buying locally so that market forces encourage growth in the sector. Kentucky Proud has a great resource for anyone interested: http://www.kyproud.com/kentucky-proud-producers.aspx.

As far as consumer habits post reopening, I think the rebound won't be as pronounced as some business owners would like. I know that some of my Millennial peers are anxious to get out, but it seems like for one person throwing parties now that dates for reopening have been announced there are three that are planning to play it safe for their own sake of that of relatives.

Furthermore, I know a lot of people who are turned off by leaders/owners/organizations pushing for a quicker timeline. For a generation that is more apt to support socially-responsible businesses, that's a big deal.

I hope everyone stays safe and well. Like Andy says, we'll get through this together.

Folks, as someone who has loved ones who have been victims of this disease, let me state that these 1-2% numbers you are throwing around don't show the whole story. If you are up for being so sick you literally cannot get out of bed for weeks, using literally every last bit of strength you can muster just to walk the 10 feet to the bathroom, not being able to eat or taste your food, THEN a month or more of being winded just walking up a flight of stairs, of a permanent reduction in lung capacity and the entire time isolation and fear of the unknown, of the risk of dropping dead from a stroke, aneurysm or embolism, then by all means trot yourself out. Yes, right now because of restrictions and distancing, and because we didn't over load our health care system, we are keeping the death rates low. If you look at places that didn't, the death rate is closer to 6-8%. None of that counts the emotional and physical toll it takes on those who catch it but manage to survive (the unmentioned 50%). Even if you don't end up in the hospital you're in for the roughest 2 weeks you may ever face as a human being. And you'll get to do it alone.

And God forbid you end up in the hospital, or intensive care, or dying because you'll get to do those things alone too.

If those of us in low risk categories act like nothing is amiss, not only will the rates go up, but one of us will infect someone who works in a nursing home or rehab facility or is a home care provider or whatever and that 1-2% rate people keep throwing around will very rapidly rise.

Fortunately my loved ones survived, but I promise you they will NEVER be the same.

You aren't being careful and wearing a mask for yourself. You're doing it for them. And for your elderly or health compromised loved one who would absolutely be part of that 1-2% you keep holding onto this as proof the virus is no big deal.

Please and thank you.

Unless you are staying at home the social distancing guidelines are a useless. There are 1,000 of people not following them and a simple trip to the grocery or drug store exposes you to all of them.

Don't get me wrong, I believe we should be social distancing, but if everyone is not doing it, it defeats the purpose. I've already stood next to 2 people today that went to 10+ people derby parties this weekend, so it is endless how many people I've been exposed to. It's impossible.

[Robin Garr]

Thanks, Chris. That's strong testimony, and I hope everyone listens. Peace.

I for one, look forward to the revival of the Automat and our robot waiters

Yikes! It's here!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czNS_QOE5rY

I work in Madison IN, and we get to reopen this coming Tuesday (May 12). We have been working closely with the Jefferson Co. Health Department to make sure we are doing everything we can to ensure a safe and clean dining (and working) environment. Here are some of the highlights of what we will be doing:

Masks are required for all restaurant staff, front and back of house.
All chairs, tables, and booths will be fully cleaned and sanitized between seatings. This will take a little longer to turn tables, but honestly not that much and I for one am really happy about this.
All surfaces and points of contact (door handles, soap dispensers, anything a person might touch) are to be sanitized a minimum of once every two hours (but we are going to make an effort to do it far more frequently and have employed extra staff to accommodate that)
Gloves will be worn by service staff when handling dishes, glasses, and clearing tables (pretty much at all times).
Each employee will be required to check in with management prior to shift for a wellness check. We are not required to take temperatures, but we have a checklist of things to review with each staff member before they start work. Anyone exhibiting any signs of illness will be asked not to work and be sent home and encouraged to consult with a primary care physician (something that most places already do anyway, minus the checklist, only now there is a zero tolerance for working sick). The checklists will be signed by each employee and kept on file for 60 days (yay, more paperwork!)
Seating capacity is limited to 50% capacity OR what is can be safely accommodated with tables and chairs 6 feet distant. We are getting out the measuring tape and discreetly marking off the floor to ensure tables/chairs don't get shifted during service.
Bar seating is currently prohibited. (this kind of sucks as I can just as easily mark of 6ft at the bar as I can on the floor, but it's a small price to pay and our bar footprint is maybe 10% of our overall capacity)

The standards asked for the kitchen are, honestly, all things that any good kitchen should already be doing, but they include things like cleaning surfaces and utensils more often and increased frequency of hand washing and glove use. These are all things we already do, so I'm not taking as much note of it as I am some of the FOH things that more immediately impact the guest experience.

I'll check back in next week and let everyone know how it's all working. I have to admit, I think it is going to be miserable trying to cook in a mask (how am I supposed to smell and taste the food I'm making?!), but as I have said before, these are the sacrifices we have to make to get back open, and for me, being open safely is the most important thing. We have to start moving back into the land of the living and we have to do it smartly and safely.