PRLA Restaurant & Lodging Matters Spring 2020

Spring 2020  •  PENNSYLVANIA RESTAURANT & LODGING matters  • 9 THE CORONAVIRUS FORCED restaurant owners and operators to make rapid-fire decisions under the most stressful conditions, without the benefit of a master class or 800- page contagion manual. First the mandated closings: You are oh-so- lucky if you have a drive-thru, to-go, or delivery operation scoring a high percentage of your normal sales. For restaurant operators with sit-down restaurants and doors locked, life is a scene from Bill Murray’s Groundhog Day. Each morning an alarm goes off and you say to yourself, “I can’t believe this is happening.” It has happened, it’s happening right now, and you must survive. How do you deal with your landlord, your bank or, your suppliers? How do you ramp up a dining room with a yet-to-be disclosed set of social distancing regulations? How do you attract a consumer that insists on white-glove sanitation? And finally, how do you get the funds to reopen? Let’s stipulate a few things thing right off the bat. If you weren’t making money going into St. Paddy’s Day, you shouldn’t be in a big hurry to reopen. In fact, if you were feeding your place with nest egg funds before the shutdown orders, think long and hard about whether you should just flip the keys to your landlord and call it a day. For those who are inspired to make a go of it, on the following pages are some ideas for coming out the other end of this nightmare as a winner. 