COVID-19 hit us all like a ton of bricks — dealing a heavy blow to brick-and-mortar dining establishments along with it. The now infamous 2020 pandemic pushed the restaurant industry to the limits, breaking mom-and-pops down — and some of them out for good.
As we grieved the loss of many, the few and mighty remained, stretching concepts beyond normalcy and ushering in a new era of innovation by way of necessity. We are seeing the brands who weathered the storm stealthily take over empty real estate and revitalize downtown areas through their franchise expansion.
What does this mean for the restaurant industry? It means new streams of revenue that boost franchise value and newfound convenience for the consumer. Let’s take a look at just a few ways that the restaurant industry has adapted to this unprecedented situation in these unchartered times.
Virtual Restaurants on the Rise
One franchise adaptation we’ve seen is the rise of the virtual restaurant. This is by no means a new concept but we are seeing the first of its kind move into the franchise space, offering an attractive value and delivery-only model to franchisees. Within a shared kitchen space or existing restaurant, franchisees are saying goodbye to decor expense, atmosphere woes, and the headaches of customer-friendly hires. The innovation moves to touch screens from which orders are received from 3rd party delivery platforms. The Local Culinary, one of our newest Franchisors that our Franchise Marketing Systems team has worked with, is boasting the title of “first ghost kitchen franchise”. This particular brand has over 50 brands and two models to choose from— add-on to an existing restaurant to boost revenue or start from scratch. This leads nicely into our next point of discussion.
Take-Out Takes the Crown
Since restaurants took the heaviest blow at the beginning of COVID-19, brands had to quickly adapt or die. Restaurateurs have expanded beyond the boundaries of the norm, tapping into unexpected ways of takeout experiences. Franchises like Zaxby’s and Chick-fil-A are offering full size family meals. We are seeing GrubHub, DoorDash, and UberEats boom, streamlining their usability and giving the ever-popular gig economy a boost.
The operational processes within these companies — and remember, franchises LOVE process — have been forced to become more efficient for their take out offerings, essentially trimming the fat that was there all along. Invention is the mother of necessity, my friends. In some cases, established food service operators have transitioned entirely to the food service delivery model in the case of LoCo which is a food service delivery service franchise which aims to compete with the established brands in the space like UberEats and GrubHub. Their angle, support the restaurants with lower commissions and a business that aims to serve the restaurant and food service providers.
Drive Up and Dine Out
Who doesn’t love a good food truck? Especially with limited seating at dine-in establishment causing crowding, food trucks have kept their charm through intrinsic value at outdoor events, private parties, essential workplaces, and the like. Even the obstacle of site selection is thrown out the door as more and more food truck companies innovate and expand through franchising. Food trucks have made their way in the franchise marketplace during 2020 through creativity and affordability. Brands like Beneventi’s understood the opportunity that social distancing brought to the restaurant industry and adapted their model to be affordable for entrepreneurs seeking to exit their dying businesses and into the thriving ones.
Each of these brands have chosen to scale into new markets with franchise growth, largely because of the pandemic creating favorable market circumstances for growth. The cost of real estate and the availability of human capital that has been displaced due to COVID has driven many new buyers into the franchise category. With ghost kitchens, new takeout models, and food trucks as the face of this restaurant revolution, the ever-changing restaurant franchise sector is ready to take on the new frontier of post-pandemic lifestyle.
For more information on how to scale your business during the Pandemic, visit the Franchise Marketing Systems website.
