[AMA] I am a Restaurant Owner - for now...

Hey guys,

I've done one of these before, but given all that's happening with the coronavirus I thought it might be interesting to give you guys an insight into the challenges we are facing at the moment, but also let you all know that #weareopen and shine a spotlight on hospitality.

Hope everyone is staying safe at the moment and praying that this will pass soon.

Just a quick poll to see how long you reckon this will last for.

Cheers,

Justin

Edit: I have had a go at making a website for delivery packs. I am not a developer so would be really grateful for any feedback. Pokemart

Edit 2: My friend is putting together a list of all the restaurants that are still open. You can find them here. If you know of any restaurants that are doing delivery they can add themselves here. Not all of us can get coverage by publishers so please show them all some love! Show your support by giving the page a like. Searchable site is on the way! #weareopenow

Thank you everyone for taking the time to comment, this is without a doubt the best place on the internet.

Poll Options

  • 56
    2 months
  • 248
    6 months
  • 81
    Longer

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closed Comments

  • What sort of cuisine do you offer?

    What extra precautions are you taking as a restaurant?

    • We serve hawaiian poke bowls. Mainly focused on CBD areas.

      We have gone cashless, no takeaway and extra cleaning. We are also taking a lot of extra precautions regarding the handling of food.

      • +5

        Why no takeaway?

      • +1

        So Poked? I tried you guys at Macquarie centre recently and it was sooo good! I wish you guys can open a store in the inner west. Also the 2 girls working at Macq centre that day were so nice :)

      • Thanks Justin.
        Poked is healthy and yummy :-)
        Hope you can all get through this.

  • What are your current plans for the workforce? How panicked are your employees?

    • We will have to cut a lot of shifts, we have had an 80% decrease in sales in some stores. All our staff are asking for their contracts at the moment. It would be good if the government were able to help out.

      • -3

        they don't keep a copy of their own contract? you could just burn them

        • +10

          Yes.. but that wouldn't really sit well with our values haha.

          • -1

            @justinh93: Not much to the topic, but unless you are offering more generous provisions than Fast Food Award the contract is just a formality. Easier just to go without it - saves admin work.

        • Erm, burning a contract hurts you potentially more than your employee, at that point you've removed any proof that you put in a restriction. I could then say that you as the employer promised me 10k every day I took off work due to illness. How could you say I didn't you burnt the contract???
          Also it's unethical.

          This was in response to the person asking if you could burn a contract, not to op!

  • +11

    I Am a Restaurant Owner

    You need to pivit NOW to take away/delivery if you want to trade through this. Get on all the apps etc and hope you can get enough business to keep the doors open

    • +26

      Yes, the problem with the apps is that they are still taking 35% except for doordash. If anyone is ordering doordash is the way to go!

      • -3

        Yeah the apps are outrageous with the commission rate, But just increase your prices on the apps only to cover this or reduce your portion size. These are the two things most places are doing to offset the money hungry app charges.

        Honestly don't bother with your own website for ordering etc too much overhead and you still need delivery people. Just put your menu up there and a number to call to arrange pickup.

        Everyone uses the 'apps' these days, they're lazy. You pickup your phone, open the app, click some buttons and food appears. They don't go searching out websites and order that way.

        • +7

          I just don't understand how we are supposed to make anything after the 35%. I feel lucky that it is staying constant however I wish we started this preparation earlier.

          I was hoping to do delivery so that we could keep some of our staff employed. We have over 80 staff that will be without work at the moment. :(

          • +6

            @justinh93:

            I just don't understand how we are supposed to make anything after the 35%

            I think you have to put up your prices by 35% Or 35% minus whatever margin you can afford.

            I think people these days understand that ordering from UberEats is more expensive than ordering at the store.

            • @serpserpserp: That's true.. I just feel like we are charging too much at 35% more than the menu, but I appreciate the advice. I will definitely look at upping it today.

              Do you find you are ordering delivery more though? We have found our sales to be pretty flat

          • @justinh93:

            I just don't understand how we are supposed to make anything after the 35%

            As above, just increase the prices on the apps…. What you use to sell for $10, you now sell for $13, which means you get around $8.45 after evilcorp cut. Yeah not great, but better than no sale.

            Also remember you don't need to pay delivery people etc like if you went on your own, so its a pure volume thing and yeah not really much money in it, but if it keeps the rent paid and the staff paid during the 'winter' thats coming, its better than closing up shop.

            • +1

              @JimmyF: I agree with what you are saying. We are a little bit worried about our volumes dropping if we increase too significantly but we will continue testing it.

              The main thing for us is trying to keep as many staff employed as possible.

              • +3

                @justinh93:

                We are a little bit worried about our volumes dropping if we increase too significantly but we will continue testing it.

                You'll never know until you try. Have you opened the apps and seen what others around you are offering?

                Fun fact, McDonalds charges MORE on ubereats than if you did drive thru or walked into the store and ordered. Plus they still have a delivery fee on top of that. McDonalds gets a billion ubereats orders a day.

                What do you take away from this? People are lazy and pay whatever to get their fix without leaving the house. They know they are paying more for the convenience.

                The main thing for us is trying to keep as many staff employed as possible.

                As above, increase the price to cover your costs like everyone else and go from there.

                You either raise prices and cover costs/make small profit or sell at your current prices and lose money on each order or don't sell on the apps and prey people walk in for takeaway.

          • @justinh93: Jack your prices 17.5% so it's not as big a hit. People will pay more if they don't want to leave the house.

        • +13

          You shouldn't reduce portion size. Your clients that notice that might never come back.

          Increase the prices if you need, that's what people do. Humans are paying $10 for a roll of TP… They will probably pay extra for food if they want that delivered.

          • @this is us:

            You shouldn't reduce portion size. Your clients that notice that might never come back.

            Well the OP only has two things to play with, portion size and price.

            Not everyone is a pig and wants a big portion. So some people will be happy with paying $10 for a smaller portion, vs $14 for a standard 'larger' portion.

            OP could do two sizes as well, small or large. Covering everyone.

            • +1

              @JimmyF: Agreed, but if they do so I would recommend they are honest about that, with a message on the website or something like that. If Nestlé reduces the size of a chocolate bar from 200g to 180g, they are supposed to alert consumers and might get in trouble if they don't. I believe something similar should be applied here…

              Clearly offering two sizes is a very good idea.

            • @JimmyF: We actually already have two sizes. It's just we haven't seen any growth in delivery sales as I think most people are choosing to eat at home. It could also be due to the fact that competition in delivery has gone through the roof.

              Its actually the marketing side that I think is the hardest part at the moment.

          • @this is us: I agree. I think its really obvious when a business is being stingy. That has never been our values but the current climate makes it pretty difficult.

            • @justinh93:

              I think its really obvious when a business is being stingy. That has never been our values but the current climate makes it pretty difficult.

              Huh? So you're going to sell food at loss then? As you said yourself

              I just don't understand how we are supposed to make anything after the 35%.

              Might as well close up shop now and save the hassle.

              So you don't want to increase your prices and you don't want to reduce your portion size (aka lower your cost of goods).

              So you'll be selling your products at a loss.

              • @JimmyF: We will definitely test increasing our prices!

      • Doordash is 30%? In the US at least, they are temporarily waiving/reducing fees. https://www.engadget.com/2020/03/17/doordash-reduces-commiss…

        • +1

          Perhaps you can re-read his comment:

          Yes, the problem with the apps is that they are still taking 35% except for doordash

          • @serpserpserp: Yes, they have waived it but the problem is volume. They are currently at around 5% of our online orders. I do really appreciate what they are doing though.

          • -1

            @serpserpserp: Yea but he didn't say how much is doordash's commission. Quick google says 30%. Obviously better for the restaurant, if you exclude how much more popular ubereats is.

      • How much is doordash commission?

        • +6

          Doordash is usually a bit less, just under 30%.They have waived it at the moment though which is awesome! Just need people to order from them.

      • +1

        OK I just put a call out on Facebook to use Doordash and ditch the rest.

        • Awesome! Thank you, it really makes a difference!

      • Actually ordered through doordash for the first time today - great experience!

    • Thank you for the advice! We have also had a go at making a delivery website but I'm not sure how to stand out as everyone is moving to this as well at the moment.

      • +2

        Need to start a push for UberEats and others to drop to 20% or lower. If I knew how to start a hashtag movement I would!

        I always contact the restaurant directly instead of an App. I'm not a millennial though! 35% not going to a local business is ridiculous.

        All the best mate.

  • Are you switching to a virtual kitchen setup to capitalize on increased delivery/take-away?

    • +1

      Yes, we are going to have a go at making a website to sell meal packs and also ingredients. I'm not sure about the uptake though.

    • We haven't actually seen an increase in either of those categories though. I think people are actually choosing to eat in. Have you been ordering much delivery still?

      • I have got to say, I've ordered less.

        It is an interesting situation because the general public is so focused on getting staples from the supermarket that when we get them, we now want to stretch them further and use everything we have and not be wasteful.

        However, I can guarantee you that if our household gets sick and has to isolate, we will be thanking the gods for food delivery services.

        • That's how I feel. Even though I'm in hospitality I feel a bit cautious with eating out given I have a high risk member at home.

          Looking overseas, it doesn't feel like like they have it much better either.

  • +13

    It will last longer than 6 months.

    At the very least, containment and isolation will take 3 months. Post containment, there will still be uncertainty. The risk and fear of a resurgence is real so the self isolation is likely to continue until the world is fairly certain it is gone completely.

    Consumer confidence cannot start to recover before then.

    Having said that, you are looking at alternate revenue streams. That's a good start and could even be a long term viable business. There is opportunity in crisis. The envious and incompetent will call it "profiteering". History calls it innovation.

    • +1

      That sounds pretty grim.

      I am most worried about the recovery at the moment given all the messaging around social distancing doesn't really encourage people to visit restaurants even after this is over.

      Thanks for having a look! haha I am hoping its an opportunity. I alternate between hope and despair every couple of hours. This is definitely the most crazy experience of my life.

      I feel like I should have listened to my parents and stayed in corporate.

      • +3

        I feel like I should have listened to my parents and stayed in corporate.

        Corporate is standing down employees at the moment, it may not work out any different…

        • +1

          That's true. I guess the grass is always greener on the other side.

    • It will last longer than 6 months.

      Agreed…..

      Wuhan has been locked down for 2 months, they won't release the 11m people from lockdown until they get 14 days in a row without new cases. They got the first case free day yesterday.

      So for those who think its a 14 day lockdown and life goes on again, is in for a rude shock. China still has 50m people in lockdown, shall we just ignore this fact when people scream lockdown is the answer?

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_Hubei_lockdowns#Elsewhere…

      If you have one single case post lockdown, we go back to square one again and the whole thing starts again.

      We honestly need to start doing what non lockdown areas of China and Singapore etc are doing. Temperature checks everywhere. In Singapore you are effectively quarantined to your house if you have a temperature, you can't get into buildings, shopping centers, supermarkets or even on to trains/buses if you have a fever. So your only choice is to stay home and not spread it around.

      • That's a really interesting insight and also quite scary.

        I really hope we can contain this… from what you are saying it doesn't really feel like you think we are anywhere near containing this…

      • +1

        Wuhan has been locked down for 2 months, they won't release the 11m people from lockdown until they get 14 days in a row without new cases. They got the first case free day yesterday.

        Even if they make it to a fortnight without new cases , it won't be over. There's always the threat of a second wave, then a third… We are only trying to buy time with these non-pharmaceutical interventions we are using. This pandemic only ends when 60% of the population is immunised. I'm going with 12-18 months :(

        • +1

          it won't be over

          Yeah…. Its just buying time! Wuhan will only stay virus free if they keep the boarders closed, no people in or out. As we have seen by this virus, it just takes 1 person to infect the world!

          This pandemic only ends when 60% of the population is immunised. I'm going with 12-18 months :(

          It will slow down for each wave though, as more and more people build up immunity to it after they have it, the virus will struggle to find 'new' hosts to infect. Which will slow down the spread. But even at 60% having immunity, I don't think it will 'stop' it in its tracks. it'll be a slow burn virus infecting pockets of the world for years to come.

          The problem with getting to this point without a vaccine is the load on the health system and the death rate that comes with the virus while we get through this phase.

          Then we have the horror if it behaves like the common flu, and starts to mutates every year, it'll just be going around and around. Groundhog day horror!

          • @JimmyF:

            It will slow down for each wave though, as more and more people build up immunity to it after they have it, the virus will struggle to find 'new' hosts to infect. Which will slow down the spread.

            If history has taught us anything is that the second wave of an epidemic/pandemic is usually the deadliest.

            Then we have the horror if it behaves like the common flu, and starts to mutates every year, it'll just be going around and around. Groundhog day horror!

            Yep :( We're in for the long haul.

            • @[Deactivated]:

              Yep :( We're in for the long haul.

              Unless we get wiped out in the first or 2nd wave….. :)

              • @JimmyF: Let's stay positive and remember that it is not in the virus's best interest to kill ALL of its hosts. Some of us will make it :) Unless of course if COVID-19 is the Great Filter, then we're all doomed.

                • @[Deactivated]:

                  remember that it is not in the virus's best interest to kill ALL of its hosts

                  It doesn't have a shortage of host species - Pangolins, modern monkeys, and so on.. So wiping one species isn't a big deal for this naughty one.

          • @JimmyF: The lock-down will be an attempt to completely clear Australia of the virus, like they have done in Hubei.

            Quarantine for international arrivals will be here for the foreseeable future, probably until a vaccine exists.

      • If you have one single case post lock-down, we go back to square one again and the whole thing starts again.

        Well the idea is that no-one enters the country without quarantine so there should be no new single case.

        Even if one did slip in somehow we would be much better prepared to handle it promptly before it could spread further.

        • no-one enters the country without quarantine

          and thats working so well now isn't? We have had so many people ignoring the quarantine already.

          handle it promptly

          Just like we handled those 'early' cases here when we knew how bad it was going to get, to stop it in its tracks. But nope we let it spread.

          Or how we're now ignoring Italy screaming at the world to lock down your peoples moments as its a shit storm once out, but we continue to ignore that. cough cough look at Bondi beach last night, a sea of people.

          https://7news.com.au/lifestyle/health-wellbeing/packed-bondi…

          It will slow down on the 2nd and 3rd waves, as it has less hosts to infect and spread. Its a bit of a bummer for those at risk.

          • +1

            @JimmyF: A agree absolutely that the government has totally messed this up from the get go.

            eg. The whole country of Italy was in lock-down yet still had people freely arriving from there without even a self-isolation requirement. It was madness.

            It's going to cost billions now.

            • @trapper:

              It's going to cost billions now.

              and then some……. This thing is going to be in trillions after its gone around the globe

  • +5

    I voted 6 months but I think it's probably somewhere in between 2 and 6. China crushed it in about 3-4 so I think it will be similar here.

    I really feel for business owners. Landlords and utilities won't stop charging and it's going to hurt everyone when employees start getting laid off.

    I really wish I could provide hope/help. You've been a great supporter of ozbargain make delicous food but the world really is (profanity) at the moment.

    • +11

      China crushed it in about 3-4 so I think it will be similar here.

      Have a feeling China are just keeping secrets again.

    • China crushed it in about 3-4 so I think it will be similar here.

      Uh, I think not…China have also been stricter and built new hospitals/treatment centres almost instantly…

      • +7

        China can bolt people in and force quarantine. Their immigration process at the moment is almost 6-8 hours where every person is individually checked and interviewed. I just don't know if we have the manpower to really do what they have done.

        • +8

          Maybe they could redeploy the Qantas people.

    • Thanks stirlo! Really appreciate the feedback. It's soo crazy what the world is throwing us with the bushfires, then flooding and now this.

      We will get through this, just trying to do everything we can to have a business to come back to.

    • China crushed it in about 3-4 so I think it will be similar here.

      How so? China is trying to reduce the reproduction number (the average number of secondary cases each case generates), R, to below 1 and hence reduce case numbers to low levels. The main challenge of this approach is that the strategies they currently have in place will need to be maintained – at least intermittently - for as long as the virus is circulating in the human population, or until a vaccine becomes available. This is at best 12 months away.There is also no guarantee that initial vaccines will have high efficacy.

      China may be close to winning this battle but they are nowhere near to winning the war.

      • China has had no domestically acquired cases for two days now. 12 more days like that and the lock-down is over.

        • Less than 1% of its population has been infected so far, which leaves 99% still susceptible to the disease.

          It is more likely that the 2nd wave will come from “imported cases.” There were 34 new imported cases into China on Wednesday alone. You just need 1 or 2 super-spreaders and the fire will start raging again.

          • +2

            @[Deactivated]: 0.006% to be exact.

            Question: so how many 'waves' will it take to get to 60%?

            Answer: 10,000 - ie not going to happen.

            We could be fire-fighting for a long time, but 'herd immunity' is not going to happen without a catastrophic global disaster which will dwarf the Spanish Flu.

            Forget about this fantasy, the only hope is contain or cure.

            • @trapper: There is no cure. Otherwise, we would have cured the flu by now.

              'herd immunity' is not going to happen

              I'm not sure you understand how vaccines work. When a large enough percentage of the population is vaccinated, the spread of the disease is limited.This indirectly protects unimmunised individuals , including those who can't be vaccinated and those for whom vaccination was not successful.This is the principle of herd immunity. Vaccination works on the principle of herd immunity.

              so how many 'waves' will it take

              before we find an efficacious vaccine? No idea. It will depend on how good we are at "containment" until then. Each time we let our guards down, there could be another resurgence.

              At the moment we're using a mitigating strategy,. which focuses on slowing the epidemic spread while still protecting those most at risk of severe disease from infection.For instance, aged care homes are in lockdown. I think that's fine. We are nowhere near peak healthcare demand.

              We could be fire-fighting for a long time

              Exactly! Best guestimate is a vaccine is 12 months away. Do you propose we stay in lockdown for all those months? Where will the food come from? How do we pay our mortgages if we're not working? How long can we stay locked in before we all go stir-crazy? What about the economy? Will it ever bounce back from this?

              If you are so scared, you always have the option of self-isolating yourself before the rest of the country officially goes into lock down. No one is stopping you from doing that.

              • @[Deactivated]:

                Do you propose we stay in lockdown for all those months?

                After two months of lock-down the infection will naturally peter out - again see exactly this has happened in Hubei.

                Looking at this rational is not fear. If we don't lock-down we are going to have millions of cases, that is the reality.

              • @[Deactivated]:

                I'm not sure you understand how vaccines work.

                Just to clarify, 'cure' in my comments above includes vaccines. If we find a vaccine or other cure we can relax a bit, but without that lock-downs are the only thing that will control this.

  • Government papers state peak might last is 12-16 weeks. By then we would have stopped this quarantine and what nots because otherwise the economy might need life support by then.

    The key is health response needs to keep up and ramp up. At least double the intensive care beds from 1500 to 3000-4000(I don't know how they are going to do that, I work in one) and then there would not be an atrocious casualty rate (triaging ICU, "age limits" etc). Plus other capacities

    The economy most likely cannot hold up for a vaccine if it is at least a year away, otherwise risk a greater than the great depression depression

    • That means we still have a really long way to go. Are you guys running into shortages in hospitals at the moment?

      • +1

        Yes a long way, at least 4 months. Shortages of staff yes, rationing and rationalizing PPE as well. Staffing wise it is soon going to reach breaking point (and you can't magically make intensive care staff from other staff), I work in the epidemic epicenter so maybe a week or two before other areas to catch up.

        The backup plan of stopping non essential surgery is already happening. The disaster plan of mass recruiting from other areas and making temporary ICUs and respiratory wards (theaters, casualty and surgical staff, retired staff) will happen in a month or two I reckon.

        Italy has already mobilised "doctors" and "nurses" in their last year of training. They have also stopped testing and quarantining hospital staff with minor symptoms

        • Damn… that doesn't sound good at all. What are things that we as the public can do to help?

          • @justinh93: 1-Wash hands and practice respiratory hygiene
            2-Push your minister to enact quickly on bolstering emergency health capacity
            3-Follow social distancing and quarantining
            4-Do not panic - buy stuff normally and don't hoard like a damn doomsday prepper because if that really happens we are all screwed anyway, your $400 coles or woolworths shop won't help you

            Let me be clear about this, this quarantining is all about flattening the curve and ensuring health services continue to function. Now if they can only get on their asses and hurry up with the health response that would be great. We had an orthopod ask for an intensive care bed for a post op hip replacement. I just laughed. Get with the program

            The great majority of us ozbargainers would probably survive this anyway since I dont think the over 70s is the main population here. I hope your restaurant/ food service picks up soon. I am not complaining of the war like conditions that we are soon likely to face in hospitals, at least we still have jobs. The health response is just going at a snails pace and we will be overrun quickly and soon.

            • +1

              @pao2x:

              buy stuff normally ….
              this quarantining

              how to quarantine without food and coles/ww delivery halted

              • +4

                @dcep: You could consider supporting your local restaurant :P hahaha

            • @pao2x: How long would it take to train someone for basic care of a covid-19 patient? Not talking ICU level, but for those that just need supplemental oxygen which I understand is the vast majority of those that will need hospital support.

              We can use airports and hotels as makeshift hospitals/fever clinics. Plenty of staff in those industries could be trained for the less severe cases taking the burden off the main hospitals.

              • +1

                @twinbag: Officially at least a year. Unofficially depends how low you want to go. It can be like the movie Enemy at the Gates where Russian soldiers were sent in without ever holding a gun.

    • Pegasus?

    • The key is health response needs to keep up and ramp up.

      Well they better get cracking. Every four days we delay the lock-down there will be twice as many beds needed.

  • +1

    I believe 6 months to be about right, I have a relative in Guangzhou where things are gradually beginning to be loosened.

    They had food delivery throughout that period and relied on it so hope things get better for those in the restaurant business.

    • Thanks for the feedback Iampoor. That is really good to know. Did you relatives order much delivery during the lockdown period?

      • +1

        They ordered a fair bit but also know of many families who didn't.

        The families who didn't would have one person go and get groceries and just cook for everyone.

        I like the fact that your website sells some essential groceries as well, that might be yet another alternate option for you.

        That way you can capture both sides of the market?

        With the current panic buying, if you are offering the same groceries at a good price I am sure you will go well. The 80 employees can be delivery drivers!

        I know for a fact that we are not running low on most items - just got a delivery of toilet paper for the office staff so they don't spend hours trying to hunt it down…

        • +1

          Yes that is exactly what we are hoping to do. A lot of our suppliers are hurting at the moment so it would be good to get them some revenue for them as well.

          We gotta try keep the wheels turning.

  • Website feedback - Too many steps to get a delivery price. Puts me off ordering. Great idea including a boardgame.

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