How to Successfully Reopen a Restaurant After the Shutdown

By Anastasia Vladychynska

The last year has been difficult for anyone in the restaurant business. In recent months, as states have begun to reopen, food service entrepreneurs are finally feeling more hopeful. And as restaurants open their doors to customers, there are new protocols for customers to learn. To ensure your restaurant's reopening is a success, learn how to handle these five situations.

When you reopen a restaurant, prepare for these situations

1. Are you guys open?

This is the No. 1 question people are asking when they step inside a restaurant today. You might think if there are people sitting outside or inside (depending on which stage of post-quarantine you are in), then it should be obvious that you are open and working.

Sorry, but no. Some restaurants are open, some are only preparing for opening, some have cut their working hours, and some have unfortunately closed for good. Please make sure you have a huge "We Are Open!" banner on your social media pages and your physical location. You might even want to send out “Welcome back!” text messages to customers whom you have phone numbers for.

When you reopen a restaurant but you’re still only at 50% capacity, make sure you include wait times into that text message as well. There’s nothing worse than finally going out to your favorite restaurant and finding out the wait time will be three hours.

2. How does this work now?

For some time now, restaurants will have to treat every customer as if they are new, and customers may be confused with the protocols of how your business is operating now. Do they just sit down? Do they wait for someone to disinfect the table or has it been disinfected? Do you have disposable menus or do they download them using a QR code? Where's the QR code? What if someone doesn't have a smartphone? Or 4G? What's your wi-fi password?

Create visible "disinfected" signage, and make sure your signs say that menus are disposable. Be sure to always have someone greeting customers to explain any rules and to answer any questions.

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• How to Handle a Temporary Business Closure
• 4 Benefits of Content Marketing for Restaurants—Especially When Times Are Tough
• 6 Simple Ways to Make Your Grocery Store More Profitable

3. Sorry, we are fully booked

Are you kidding me? I've been wanting to sit at my favorite table and eat my favorite meal for a year, and you're now telling me you're fully booked? Sorry, but it wasn't that long ago you were posting heartfelt messages on social media asking for help to keep you in business.

If you are a restaurant owner or manager, you have to understand that customers wanting to return to their favorite eating places is not just something they're doing on a whim. It's actually a way for them to tell themselves that everything is back to normal: "I'm back at my favorite restaurant. I'm seeing other people ordering and eating food; people are laughing. Everything is going to be okay."

When you reopen a restaurant, many of your customers will come back for different reasons than they used to. If they used to eat out every night because they didn't want to cook, many people have tried cooking at home, and some are even sticking to it because they're realizing it's cheaper. They are now coming to you because they're thinking, "Give me some happiness!" This is why customers are much more sensitive these days and your employees have to show empathy.

Knowing that, please don't say, "We are fully booked." Instead, offer choices. One of my clients, a restaurant chain that is consistently winning customer service awards, will even book a table for their customers at a competitor’s restaurant so that they still have a wonderful evening.

4. I'm sorry you didn't like the cake—I'll make sure the chef knows it

Now, this is one situation that I find very frustrating. The customer just gave the restaurant a chance to have them back one day, and the restaurant totally missed it.

I understand that after such a long time earning nothing, restaurants want to be careful with their expenses. And offering a new dessert or taking it off the check is an expense—I get it. But please, look at this as an investment. Because if you don’t invest that extra piece of cake right now, in several months you will be investing much more into social media ads and targeting to bring in new guests. Plus with new guests you will have to do everything from scratch.

Make sure your employees have simple protocols they can follow without having to ask for a manager’s permission. Take the cake off the bill, apologize, and offer something else. Also, make sure your employees have several alternatives they can offer. One of my friends doesn’t eat anything sweet, but every time a restaurant wants to apologize, they give her ice cream or a piece of cake, which only makes things worse.

We must be fighting to do whatever we can do to keep every customer and ensure they will come back.

5. Are masks required?

No matter what the policy is in your state or county, be respectful of each and every customer. If masks are required and someone comes in to your restaurant who is not wearing a mask, simply say, "Could you please put on a mask? Thank you!” And if they refuse, suggest preparing a to-go meal for them while they wait outside.

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