Here are some tips to limit contact at your restaurant.

Social distancing (or physical distancing)

This is imperative at this time – if you’re experiencing lines for pick-up, encourage patrons to stand 6 feet apart by taping markers on flooring to help limit exposure to those entering your operation.

PC movement

Still stocking portion control packets and cups front-of-house with utensils and other essentials? Move those to back-of-house for employees to pack directly into takeout bags.

Provide curbside pickup

Use your servers and other front-of-house employees to facilitate your takeout service. Require that employees wear gloves to deliver food to cars, helping to engender confidence of proper food handling among your customers.

Takeout/Delivery Tips and Tricks

While all delivery/pick-up models are important during this time, mobile order for pickup is the most profitable channel.

Use staff for delivery

Before re-purposing your FOH staff for delivery, check with your insurance carrier to ensure that you’re covered for off-premise activity. If you’re properly insured for delivery, you can keep your servers, bartenders and other FOH staff working during this uncertain time.

Work with delivery services that are waiving delivery fees or offering discounts

If you’re not insured for staff delivery, make sure that you work with third-party delivery services that are temporarily waiving or discounting commissions or other fees.

What should you do if you aren’t currently set-up on third-party or mobile ordering?

Advertise pick-up capabilities on your social media accounts (Yelp, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter) by listing a phone number that is open to over-the-phone ordering.

Trim menu offerings in the short term

Reduce your menu items to focus on high margin/low labor options. Limit your menu to items that are easily replicated, travel well and can be made with multi-purpose foods.

Add family-style meal kits to delivery and takeout menus

These kits make it easy on customers to put together an already prepped meal. This works especially well with such items as pasta and freshly made sauce or other meals that customers can buy for the week and freeze.

Create ways to grow the ticket

Utilize add-on features that encourage customers to look to tomorrow. For those customers ordering pizza for dinner, suggest add-ons like pasta, which keeps well and makes for a great lunch while working from home!