How does the restaurant industry recover from the economic effects of the pandemic? Of course, there are other industries that have been devastated, but the food-service businesses play a different role. They are a part of our food supply. Only in the recent weeks has there emerged some hope that at least some return to some semblance of normalcy is possible.
Some business owners and industry observers are saying that when restaurants bounce back, we guests will return to our old habits and settle into our routines quickly. That appears to include our appetite for bargains. Some sign of that has been seen already as “restaurant weeks” returned to Providence and other cities across the nation.
The Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau has done tremendous work in repurposing its mainstay dining event this winter. Executive Director Kristen Adamo says the preparations started with a deep breath and a look the other way. She decided to ignore the debate in the industry that was increasingly against doing restaurant weeks. This was another example of the negative narrative in the food press across the country, driven by its New York City orientation. But New York is not reflective of every single part of the country. Adamo looked to the strong infrastructure in place among Rhode Island’s owner-operators. She said she was confident it could be pulled off.
There was already a success story from last summer. “We threw out the format and price points to allow for more flexibility and for more restaurants to be involved,” Adamo said. A hotel-packaging component was added to toss a lifeline to Providence hotels, suffering much more than the restaurants. Adamo continued, “We added takeout because not everyone was comfortable dining at a restaurant and we wanted our restaurants to have as many revenue streams as possible. Since that all worked so well, we carried it through to the winter.”
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LOCAL EATS: Providence Restaurant Weeks were held Jan. 10 to Feb. 6 at 50 restaurants statewide. / COURTESY PROVIDENCE WARWICK CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU[/caption]
Fifty restaurants statewide jumped on board for the event, which ran from Jan. 10 to Feb. 6, with support from longtime sponsor Navigant Credit Union and a HArT grant – hotel, arts and tourism – from R.I. Commerce Corp. HArT is a competitive program that aims to prevent the closure of arts, culture, hospitality and tourism businesses while also building resilience to shifts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
There were restaurant weeks in Washington, D.C. Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington ran its promotion for two weeks, allowing for even more time to take advantage of specially priced meals. New York City’s program, dubbed “Restaurant Week To Go,” was called the biggest ever. Over 500 eateries took part. NYC & Co., their version of the Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau, echoed what has been said here since last March: “You love [your] restaurants, and they love you.” The price point was the original concept – “the price of the year” – $20.21, a lower price than Rhode Island.
Adamo foresees some of the components of the new “pivoted” restaurant weeks staying after the pandemic. “The flexibility was very well-received, as was the takeout option,” she said.
Restaurateurs have pointed to advances in their ability to do business online that shrunk a decade of development into a few weeks that would not have been possible without the pandemic. There are many unspoken aspects to this time that must be reckoned with and benefits that must be acknowledged in a time period like no other that we all have endured. “I guess we will see how things turn out,” Adamo said.
Bruce Newbury’s radio show and podcast, “Dining Out with Bruce Newbury,” is broadcast on WADK 1540 AM and several radio stations throughout New England. Email him at Bruce@BruceNewbury.com.
