Like the aftermath of a forest fire, there is regrowth after destruction.
When the pandemic is finally behind us, restaurants will look different. There will be more patio space, slimmed-down menus, and better executed takeout dishes. Fresh ideas and new plans are well underway, as restaurants are working on their next concepts two to three years out.
“The pandemic has made the playing field friendlier to outside-the-box thinkers,” says Jill Overdorf, director of business development for Naturipe Farms, LLC BB #:165382 in Salinas, CA.
“Seventeen percent of independent restaurants have closed because of the pandemic; those able to pivot will survive. Will we go back to five-star fine dining? The days of chefs trying to outdo each other rather than please customers are behind us.”
“With ghost kitchens, one can try a new idea and not hire staff or invest in real estate. An example of a different successful pivot is El Barrio Neighborhood Tacos with two locations in the Los Angeles area.
“Specializing in elevated Mexican street food made with authentic, premium ingredients like Oaxacan corn tortillas and antibiotic-free wagyu skirt steak, chef/owner Ulises Pineda-Alfaro had to shut down onsite dining at the height of Covid like everyone else,” Overdorf says, “but he kept going by creating all-inclusive to-go meal kits and using his staff to cook for the L.A. efforts of World Central Kitchen.”
Emily Kohlhas, director of marketing for wholesaler John Vena, Inc. BB #:104221 in Philadelphia, says Philly has had its own food-themed rebirth.
“Philadelphia has seen a burst of creativity in the foodservice industry,” she says, “both from folks entering the scene and industry vets doing their best to adapt.
“Some chefs with high-end restaurants have opened more casual concepts. Chef Peter Serpico, for example, opened Pete’s Place, a casual Korean-influenced eatery, which is operating as a ghost kitchen out of his temporarily shuttered fine-dining locale.
“Some operators who serve dishes that don’t translate well to takeout are creating meal kits,” she adds. “Neighborhood Ramen, a small ramen shop, started selling make-at-home ramen kits instead of trying to send you home with soggy noodles.”
Pop-up takeout events have also become popular. Proyecto Tamal (Project Tamale) was started by Philly Chef Ana Caballero to raise money for Latino cooks during the pandemic. The project has raised over $80,000 preselling handmade tamales for weekly pickup at a variety of neighborhood cafés.
Natalie Shmulik, CEO of The Hatchery, a food business incubator and service provider in Chicago, reports there’s no shortage of new concepts.
“The Hatchery saw over 70 new businesses register for its monthly ‘Starting a Food Business’ class in January 2021, almost double the usual number of registrants. There’s a much greater focus on innovation around delivery and in-home snacking now that more people are working from home.
“An example is Kororin’s shuttle serving onigiri,” Shmulik says, “bite-sized Japanese rice snacks topped with seafood or vegetables, and mobile services that give consumers the adventure of trying international foods without leaving home.”
This is an excerpt from the cover story of the July/August 2021 issue of Produce Blueprints Magazine. Click here to read the whole issue.
