How the Restaurant Industry Can Bounce Back During COVID-19 with a New Normal

19 has forced many businesses to rethink the way they operate, adapting to a new normal. Jim Balis, Managing Director of Strategic Operations for CapitalSpring, offered his insight in an article from Fast Casual on how the restaurant industry will bounce back from the pandemic as restaurants begin to reopen.

“After months of mass closures due to COVID-19, restaurants around the country are slowly preparing to reopen their doors and dining areas to customers,” said Balis. “While this is giving many people hope that the economic shutdown is coming to an end, returning from this crisis is still complex and uncertain, especially in the restaurant industry.”

Balis continued, “The capacity limitations and reopening phases are also being determined by individual state and local ordinances. We have one restaurant location in our portfolio at CapitalSpring which is currently allowed to open up at 25% of its capacity before moving to 50%, while the bar in our portfolio has to remain closed. Each restaurant is navigating this in real-time.”

Balis mentioned that in order to serve customers safely, restaurants have been advised to install plates at the bottom of bathroom doors to allow those who are dining in to use their feet to open doors instead of their hands. Restaurants have also been advised to make the switch to menu apps customers can download on their phones to place their orders, instead of using self-serve kiosks.