Several key lifelines emerged for restaurants and other foodservice operations during the worst of the pandemic, from online ordering to curbside pickup and delivery and contactless payments. Another prominent trend was recognition of the importance of loyalty programs. Loyalty programs not only create a lasting connection between patrons and a restaurant and/or brand, but they […]
Canadians are eagerly returning to their favourite spots, with COVID-19 restrictions lifted to some extent everywhere across Canada and restaurants open again across the country. However, OpenTable data suggests that reservation no-shows are persisting as a problem for the industry. The provider of online restaurant reservations found that over 75 per cent of its restaurant […]
Canadians are looking forward to returning to restaurants as long as safety measures are in place finds the 2021 Discerning Diner Report from Angus Reid and Restaurants Canada. In particular, 89 per cent of Canadians are looking forward to eating out with friends and family, with 64 per cent going so far as to say […]
Loyalty programs have become a vital tool for many restaurant operations. They’re nothing new in the foodservice space, but they are certainly evolving as a differentiator in a crowded industry. Not only providing an incentive for customers to come back and spend more money but also making it easier for them to do so in […]
It’s no secret that there is a restaurant labour shortage going on in the industry right now. Long recognized as a high-intensity, low-margin sector, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have pushed many restaurant workers out of the industry, and many seem to have no plans to return. RELATED: The hiring dilemma: Luring restaurant workers […]
Canadian consumers are ready to keep supporting restaurants, but managing your margins and elevating guest experience are musts. By Tom Nightingale Canadian foodservice and hospitality is finally getting on the road to healing the deep wounds of COVID-19. On July 16, indoor dining reopens in Ontario for the first time since Easter weekend, a landmark […]
Ryerson University’s Brookfield Institute has released a report detailing key ways in which the food retail and grocery industries are changing amid the backdrop of COVID-19. The new report, “Shake-up in Aisle 21: Disruption, Change and Opportunity in Ontario’s Grocery Sector,” concludes that the food retail and grocery industries are transforming at greater speed and […]
By Mo Chaar As restaurants grapple with ongoing closures throughout the pandemic, it’s clear that dining as we know it might never be the same. Bans on indoor dining in provinces like British Columbia have been detrimental as businesses watch Ontario’s restaurant industry with bated breath, which has already been set back more than $100 […]
In Part II of our three-part look at restaurant branding during the pandemic, we assess how operators can build a lasting connection with their community. By Doug Radkey In Part I of this series, the word connection was used often. When you are building or rebuilding the essence of a brand, it is all about the connection […]
The debate around third-party delivery apps is intensifying amid the economic impacts of COVID-19 By Tom Nightingale For the foodservice businesses and restaurants that have been able to survive the last 12 months of COVID-19 pandemic, keeping up with the fast rate of change has been vital. In particular, operators across the country have had […]
