 Hi, everyone. I'm Scott Shagioca, and I am Go Daddy's entrepreneur in residence. And I'm here in San Francisco following California's shelter in place order. And today I'm going to be talking about the restaurant industry, which is the backbone of our economy and many of our communities. How are restaurants being uniquely impacted by this pandemic? And how are they pivoting towards delivery and takeout and what is working and what isn't? And finally, what are some of the things that restaurants are dealing to contribute to their communities despite COVID-19? Today I'm going to be interviewing a few people to talk about what restaurants are doing and how they're surviving during these changing times. Well, I thought we could just start off with a simple question. What's your name and what is it that you do? Hi, my name is Tierney Plum. I'm the senior associate editor of Eater DC. And I cover all things food and drink in our nation's capital. So at a national level, why are restaurants being impacted by COVID-19 so dramatically and why should we be talking about that? So the restaurant industry itself is based on social interaction. So it's been uniquely affected by the pandemic. With the Dynan Band coming into effect across cities nationwide, the only thing restaurants can turn to to make money right now is takeout and delivery. The U.S. is home to more than one million restaurants, which employ 15 million workers. Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, that workforce has lost 8 million or about two-thirds of its workforce to furloughs and layoffs as a result of Dynan closures. Is it hard for a restaurant to go into delivery? Were they doing this before? How has COVID-19 been changing the space? So six out of 10 restaurants nationwide are currently open on a takeout and delivery basis. So a lot of restaurant owners in lieu of hopping on the app delivery train and taking the cut from that, some are doing in-house delivery themselves. Why is it important for us to support the restaurant industry and our community? Restaurants of course are the backbone of every neighborhood, every local economy. So if we want them to stick around, we really have to support them now more than ever. One way to do that is to buy gift cards. A lot of restaurants are doing gift card purchases on their site to keep that money coming in so that when they do open, you can go and redeem it. There's a couple of places that you can donate to. For instance, the National Restaurant Association set up an employee relief fund that you can donate to online, and that sets up grants to get to those independent restaurant tours that need it most. Unfortunately, undocumented workers, a lot of them aren't eligible for unemployment benefits as a lot of their peers are in the industry. So they're especially vulnerable right now when it comes to healthcare and access to the grants everyone else can get. So it's important to tap into the local nonprofits and your community that are directly helping those workers right now at this time of need. Yeah, that's great. I think it's so important to make sure no one falls through the cracks, right? And we're all part of our community. We're all here to hopefully show up as we can. Thank you so much for your time. It was really nice talking to you and I'll see you later. So next up, I'm speaking to Leah from Chow Now. Thanks so much for joining me. I was wondering, you know, as a first question, what is Chow Now? Chow Now, we're an online ordering company and we're probably the largest online ordering company you've never heard of because everything that we do is putting our restaurant brand first. So we power takeout and delivery on a restaurant's website. So that's really how we're helping restaurants today is take the power back and be able to have control over all their online ordering channels. I'm wondering in this current environment that we're in, how are you seeing the industry or delivery shift with COVID-19? What's happening from your end? So we've seen about five times the amount of restaurants signing up, really needing this in order to survive right now. It makes sense because restaurants aren't having people come in and sit down. They need to find a way to keep their kitchen busy and keep their staff working. So the way to do that is through takeout. Could you tell me a little bit more about what you're seeing and how restaurants are pivoting in creative ways? Well, first of all, some restaurants that have never had takeout or delivery are now having to figure that out. Some of them are offering cocktails to go because a lot of laws are being passed quickly where restaurants are actually able to do that so that they can keep those bar and alcohol sales going. And then some of the other things that we're seeing is restaurants, they are converting their dining rooms into being able to offer goods that they would never sell before. So they have a distribution channel from their food distributor where now they can sell eggs to their local community. This actually turned their restaurant into almost like a mini market of sorts. And they'll actually add that to their online menus. And then some of the other trends that we're seeing and direct response to COVID-19 are restaurants are now offering curbside contactless pickup. What advice would you give to a restaurant right now? So right now I think it's just really important to be in touch with your most loyal customers and making it as easy as possible for them to find you and to order from you. Utilize anyone you have at your disposal. I know a lot of restaurants, they might not be the best at social media, but they have somebody on their waitstaff that is like great at Instagram and TikTok or whatever it is. Look at who's around you who can help you get the message out to your customers unless they know that you're still open for business and you make it as easy as possible for your loyal customers to stay in touch and to order from you during this time. I so appreciate your time and just thank you for sharing more about Chow now. Thank you for advocating for small businesses and for restaurants in our local community. Yeah, thanks for having me. So next I'm going to talk to John. He's a co-owner of a restaurant in Washington, DC called Cinder Barbecue. So thanks so much for joining me. The first question I have for you is how is your business doing during COVID-19? We went from a full service restaurant to just a bit of carry out and delivery to a model that requires nothing but carry out delivery. So changing how your entire operation goes has been a challenge that we've been able to adapt to very well. Can you tell me a little bit more about how you're getting food to customers and what the customer experience is like? Sure, well curbside is different than delivery is different than dine-in. I mean they're all three very different experiences and being able to control those expectations of what the customer expects has been our challenge. Using a third-party provider like Caviar we depend on the drivers and that they are there on time, that they get the food to the customer on time. Now when they get the food is it hot? Is it presented properly? So the customer experience is very different than if they walk up to the window, they place an order, we get to talk to them, communicate with them, have that customer experience, then they get the food and then they're on their way. And I think we have a better chance of controlling that and making sure that all of that works well as opposed to using a third-party company like Caviar. However, they've been very integral in our success. How have you been able to keep your employees and what does it look like to keep your business afloat with delivery? We haven't laid off any staff as a result of coronavirus. Everybody is still employed with Cinder. Every bit of revenue that we can generate is critical not only for Cinder, not only for the restaurant, but even the supply chain. We take donations, right? And the donations are for meals. The donations are for meals for those that can't afford to feed themselves right now as a result of coronavirus. So on our online ordering platform, the very first button we see is meal donation. We put a number to it and we say, hey, this is what we'll buy a meal. And on our online orders, well over 50% of our online orders donate one up to 10 meals per order. It is remarkable how the community has jumped up and embraced this. Our donated meals has been a great opportunity for us to keep people busy as well as keeping that supply chain open, but to give back. I mean, how fortunate are we that not only did we not have to close, but then we're able to give back to the community as well. And that is very satisfying. Do you have any advice for other restaurants who might be struggling right now? Being engaged with the consumer and our customer on social media has been big, right? We've added specials, believe it or not. In this, we've added specials to our menu. Every Thursday we're doing burn-in since we're a barbecue place. Every Saturday we do full racks of ribs, rib meals. Those sell out before we even open. And see what you can do to get involved in the community, right? Volunteer some service, volunteer a meal. Do something that just they say, well, look, we want to support Cinder because they're supporting the community. Do that in your neighborhood. Do that in your city. Okay, John. Thanks so much. It was super great talking to you. And I'm wishing you well during these times and hope to see you soon. So restaurants all across the country are facing a lot of challenges right now. And many of them need to pivot their own businesses to stay afloat. And some are unfortunately needing to close their doors for good. Yet restaurants, as we all know, are the backbone of our economy and our communities. And many of these restaurants are actually stepping up to be in service of others, to be in service of the communities and neighborhoods we live in. So let's do our part. Let's actually give back to the restaurant industry by calling them and ordering takeout and delivery or getting gift cards. You can also donate to places like the National Restaurants Association. There's a link below this video with more information. And if you're a small business owner who's struggling and you need some resources, you can check out OpenWeStand.org for more information and more resources. Thank you so much for joining us. And I hope you stay safe and stay well during this time.