Niman Ranch Panel: The Future of Restaurants
August 6, 2020
Top restaurant industry leaders recently joined a panel discussion to dig deep on what they expect the future to hold for the hospitality sector. Read some lessons we learned and key takeaways from this thoughtful conversation. You can watch the recording below or the full panel here.
Panelists: Jeff Amoscato (Shake Shack), Chef Stephen Jones (The Larder + The Delta), Chef Mary Sue Milliken (Socalo, Border Grill restaurants and catering, and BBQ Mexicana), Bruce Reinstein (Kinetic 12), Kat Johnson (Heritage Radio Network).
Five Key Learnings From The Future of Restaurants
- Trust is everything.
Trust and safety are critical. Today, chefs and restaurateurs are tasked with entirely new responsibilities to keep their staff and customers healthy and safe. Eaters are more attuned than ever into how their food got from farm to plate and want to trust every link in the system. If this trust is lost, it can be very difficult—if not impossible—to build back. It is essential that restaurants are transparent and open communicators. As Bruce Reinstein shared: “We got away from telling real stories. Consumers want to trust us.”
- Get creative and always think ahead.
The “covid pivot” is real. Chefs and restaurateurs need to quickly adapt new technologies and services to remain resilient during these quickly changing times. Curbside pickup, take and bake brunch, streamlined menus, improved drive through and virtual classes were all cited during the conversation. And these changes have to happen fast. “If you’re not looking toward the future, you’ve already missed the ball,” said Chef Stephen. The chefs on the panel also discussed how important it is to have streamlined menus and think outside the box on what is served. For meat in particular, the chefs welcomed using less popular cuts or parts of an animals to save costs while not compromising their commitments to quality, responsibly raised protein.
- Relationships and community are more important than ever.
“A restaurant is part of a community and that’s not going away,” shared Bruce Reinstein. While much has changed, relationships between the farmers, chefs and eaters are more important than ever. Restaurants provide millions of jobs, special venues for important life events, community gathering spots and, of course, sustenance and comfort. The covid pandemic has put a spotlight on these relationships and the interconnected nature of the food system. We all rely on each other for success and especially during difficult times, we need to invest in our community. Even a simple hello can go a long way. Jeff Amoscato mentioned how much it meant to him when he received a call from Paul Willis, Niman Ranch’s founding farmer, this past spring just to check in.
- For too long, we have undervalued the food system.
“The food we eat in restaurants has been artificially inexpensive for a very long time on the backs of people underpaid and without the benefits they need,” explained Chef Mary Sue, adding that the broken financial model of the food system has been “exposed.” Today, there is a much greater appreciation for the food chain and the value of its essential workers. We all need to do more to pay the true cost of responsibly produced food—this includes ensuring all essential workers are compensated fairly, including farmers, production workers, drivers, line cooks, servers, busboys and everyone else along the food chain.
- The restaurant industry needs our help NOW.
The vast majority of neighborhood restaurants are hanging on by their fingernails. Chef Stephen and Chef Mary Sue’s businesses are both down 70%. The Independent Restaurant Coalition has shared that 85% of neighborhood restaurants are threatened to close due to covid-19 and 1 in 4 people who lost their jobs in the pandemic were restaurant workers. The value of the restaurant industry is significant; they are important community institutions and economic drivers. “If you’re lucky, your restaurant’s margins are 10%. The rest of that money goes back to the community,” explained Mary Sue Milliken. During these challenging times, we need eaters to support their favorite restaurants and local, state and federal policymakers to provide essential lifelines to serve as a bridge to more stable times.
Take Action: Ask Congress to pass the RESTAURANTS Act now.
