Current Events > Wait.... so restaurants can't survive on just to go orders or curbside?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Ill be honest, I kinda dont get why

Its still money coming in if restaurants only do to go orders or curbside. How is that not making money?

Just cut the staff and have as little people as possible operating the place and they should be ok IMO

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if i had to guess, i'd say demand isn't there. also, market saturation.

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because not as many people buy from the restaurant when its to-go

personally, i have no reason to order expensive food from a restaurant to-go if i could just make it at home or order cheaper to-go food. i only go for the experience

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I've ordered to-go from restaurants that have really good food, but honestly it just doesn't taste the same once you drive home and eat it. Stuff like steaks or high end burgers need to be eaten as soon as they are done cooking.

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for a lot of people, going to restaurants isn't just about getting some food, but it's also about socializing, getting out of the house, etc.

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Not as much business and they're paying for a much larger space than they need. They'd probably survive fine if they all operated out of one of those tiny Rally's shacks but then when people are allowed out again, they're fucked.

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Drinks are also hugely profitable for most restaurants.

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AzNDarkSamurai posted...

Just cut the staff and have as little people as possible operating the place and they should be ok IMO

See if everyone does that, there's no one left to get takeout instead of hunkering down with cheaper homemade meals.

Trickle down is bullshit. Consumers drive the economy.

I don't want my car to smell like food and I ain't paying someone to deliver it to me.

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Bananana posted...

because not as many people buy from the restaurant when its to-go

This is true, but I think there's more. When you go to a restaurant in most cases you sit down planning to eat a meal. But then you can go, "hmm, maybe ill get the brussels sprouts or some garlic bread to start." And you order a drink. And another. And then you eat for a while and your like, "ya know, that apple pie seems mighty tempting". When you eat take out, it's much harder to be upsold on more food, especially when you see the total right up front

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Drinks, snacks, sides, desserts, are all more likely to be bought if people are sitting there for a while.
Not too hard to grasp...

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Smaller orders, no tips generally, harder to balance buying stock to it doesnt go to waste, less or no alcohol sales, people less likely to buy, etc. It also depends on general proximity. I dont think Ive seen a single restaurant close my area, but you also have to drive quite far to get to another restaurant compared to high density areas.

Bananana posted...

because not as many people buy from the restaurant when its to-go

personally, i have no reason to order expensive food from a restaurant to-go if i could just make it at home or order cheaper to-go food. i only go for the experience

This.

Heavy_D_Forever posted...

I've ordered to-go from restaurants that have really good food, but honestly it just doesn't taste the same once you drive home and eat it. Stuff like steaks or high end burgers need to be eaten as soon as they are done cooking.

And this.

From my personal experience at my workplace, we could easily survive on just take-out orders if it was like it was while our state was shut down for COVID. However this isn't the case for every restaurant out there, especially in bigger cities and areas with more restaurants offering take out. Including the restaurant I work at there was only 4 aside from Burger King and McDonald's in a city with 10k residents.

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restaurants at full capacity barely made ends meet. take away 75% of that income and....there ya go

The quality from pick up/delivery is almost always going to be lower than eating it there. Whether it's due to it cooling off between source and destination, stuff getting smashed or combined or soggy due to condensation or whatever due to the packaging, or whatever reason, it's generally not going to be quite as good. If it's fast food, then it's probably designed to be packaged up quickly due to the drive through, so that's not nearly as bad, though then you have plenty of people who may not want to eat in their cars or who may not be able to just quickly drive home or don't want to get cold or whatever on the way home. If it's a sit-down restaurant normally, then the food is generally meant to be served on a plate, not get packaged up and sent off.

If you just look at it from the perspective of "it's the same food, why do you care where you eat it?" then yeah, it doesn't make sense why it wouldn't do just as well. However, if you look at it from a realistic perspective, eating out is something people can take pretty seriously (just look at how long people are willing to wait in line to get into places, how mad they get when their orders are wrong or take too long, etc), so if they're not going to be able to dine the way they want, then they're probably going to say "forget it" and just cook something at home, or they'll stick with fast food, which is generally going to be the same experience they were used to before the pandemic.

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Cause you still have to pay for the fixed costs. Restaurants are also very slim margins already. Demand also goes down.
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TrueSephir0th posted...

restaurants at full capacity barely made ends meet. take away 75% of that income and....there ya go

damn things like this make me wonder why people even bother opening restaurants if according to you, they barely make ends meet

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AzNDarkSamurai posted...

damn things like this make me wonder why people even bother opening restaurants if according to you, they barely make ends meet

the industry is full of passionate and intelligent people but the clientele is what will truly make it or break it
more than half of all restaurants in america dont survive their first year of business
the future looks bleak for the industry

AzNDarkSamurai posted...

damn things like this make me wonder why people even bother opening restaurants if according to you, they barely make ends meet

American dream propaganda.

And guess what, the restaurants that were already partnered with DoorDash, UberEats and PostMates are doing well in the pandemic. Its almost like technology and the modern world was telling these dumb ass old time owners what to prepare for as the future changes

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ncsonic posted...

And guess what, the restaurants that were already partnered with DoorDash, UberEats and PostMates are doing well in the pandemic. Its almost like technology and the modern world was telling these dumb ass old time owners what to prepare for as the future changes

Word on the street is that restaurants make chump change off delivery services. I hear some restaurants dont even want to partner with them.

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Tips for their waiters are all but dead as well if dining ins no longer a option. So if they didnt care about earning minimum wage before they will now.

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TrueSephir0th posted...

the industry is full of passionate and intelligent people but the clientele is what will truly make it or break it
more than half of all restaurants in america dont survive their first year of business
the future looks bleak for the industry

I feel Covid will be great in the long run for those places that that survive it.

There will be vastly less competition so it will be easier to attract guests once vaccines are widely avaible and things become more normal.

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AzNDarkSamurai posted...

Word on the street is that restaurants make chump change off delivery services. I hear some restaurants dont even want to partner with them.

not just that, but have you considered the cost of all those take-out utensil and paper boxes and shit?
that stuff isnt cheap. it turns your 5dollars food cost plate, into a 7 dollar take out, with no tip
its not realistic

Prismsblade posted...

Tips for their waiters are all but dead as well if dining ins no longer a option. So if they didnt care about earning minimum wage before they will now.

Honestly they still wont care. Minimum wage jobs are a dime a dozen.

Every job I ever had has taught me that you get what you pay for in regards to quality workers and paying $$$ for them.

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AzNDarkSamurai posted...

Word on the street is that restaurants make chump change off delivery services. I hear some restaurants dont even want to partner with them.

This is correct. The service takes a huge chunk of the money and employees despise them because its more work with no reward.

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Buzz Killjoy posted...

Drinks are also hugely profitable for most restaurants.

This. If you spend a dollar on a soda from a fountain drink, chances are the profit is in the 85, 90 percent area.

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pikachupwnage posted...

I feel Covid will be great in the long run for those places that that survive it.

There will be vastly less competition so it will be easier to attract guests once vaccines are widely avaible and things become more normal.

i disagree
the american populace is terrified of each other
it might take a whole generation or 2 before restaurants start to be a regular thing again

Makeveli_lives posted...

This. If you spend a dollar on a soda from a fountain drink, chances are the profit is in the 85, 90 percent area.

The most expensive thing for soda for most places are either the cup/straw or the ice. The actual soda is just syrup, water, and CO2 and the bags of syrup go a long way.
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booze my man...

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TrueSephir0th posted...

i disagree
the american populace is terrified of each other
it might take a whole generation or 2 before restaurants start to be a regular thing again

Considering how readily people are willing to risk getting covid to go to Applebee's I don't see consumers avoiding restaurants after the pandemic. It looks dire for the restaurant industry but unfortunately most of the hardship will fall on the small mom and pop places whereas the massive chains will escape covid just fine.

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NinjaWarrior455 posted...

Considering how readily people are willing to risk getting covid to go to Applebee's I don't see consumers avoiding restaurants after the pandemic. It looks dire for the restaurant industry but unfortunately most of the hardship will fall on the small mom and pop places whereas the massive chains will escape covid just fine.

which furthers my wild beliefs....

Alcohol. Why would you order a beer with your meal when it'll come luke warm and cost 3x as much as just buying your own.

You also won't order the second, or third drink. Or the bottle of wine.

They make good money on alcohol sales.

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Lower demand for curbside now vs in-house previously and the fact that many restaurants don't make money without drink sales.

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The only businesses thriving off of to go right now are the Grubhubs and Uber Eats of the industry.
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I really can't imagine going to a restaurant that is generally for in-house dining and getting takeout. It would be expensive and the food wouldn't be properly done how its meant. I'd rather just get a cheap burger three doors further down the street.
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I look forward to our future of Amazon brand food-bricks

/s

damn never imagined alcohol sales were so important to restaurants

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AzNDarkSamurai posted...

damn never imagined alcohol sales were so important to restaurants

its more than half all sales

TrueSephir0th posted...

its more than half all sales

I actually imagined the food being the main selling point and main moneymaker

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TrueSephir0th posted...

it might take a whole generation or 2 before restaurants start to be a regular thing again

going to be optimistic. they'll suffer through this.... the ones that survive will be back in business next year.
the ones that cant... will shut forever (it already happened to some restaurants).
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AzNDarkSamurai posted...

I actually imagined the food being the main selling point and main moneymaker

it's all about margins, my man. the cost of food, the variety, the spoilage and waste, paying people to prepare the food, and the servers, cost much more than the cost of alcohol, accoutrements and the bartender. because the cost is much lower, they can jack up the prices and charge like 80% more of the cost of the alcohol, but cannot upcharge the food so much. it's also easier and quicker to prepare a drink or beer, and people tend to order more than one drink, so one person or table will spend more in alcohol that is faster and cheaper to make, thus making the restaurant more money. also, drunker patrons tend to buy more, maybe tip more too.

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g0ldie posted...

for a lot of people, going to restaurants isn't just about getting some food, but it's also about socializing, getting out of the house, etc.

This. I just make food at home instead of getting expensive restaurant food since I can't go inside and chill with people

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Before the pandemic, 60%(Closer to 70 actually) of new restaurant's would close within a year of opening. I've spent almost my entire life tied to the restaurant industry and I still try to stress this to anybody who is trying to open a new restaurant.

It was already an industry on the precipice, but takeout/curbside only puts you at such a tremendous disadvantage against Fastfood places that typically operate at much higher margins overall.

Basically, the things that traditional sit-down restaurants can offer(good service, atmosphere, etc.) Have been eliminated and there simply isn't the ability to close the gap.

People are innovating. I've been in discussions about trying to convert former Car Washes into an Automated Drive-thru "on-rails" restaurant, but there's so many barriers to entry already when trying to start a restaurant, that with COVID factored in it truly seems insurmountable at times.


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AzNDarkSamurai posted...

I actually imagined the food being the main selling point and main moneymaker

Food is the reason why people go to most restaurants, but it is also the costliest item brought to the table. Drinks, especially refills that aren't free, are the main money makers and overhead is small there. Even the most expensive whiskeys and wines have markups.

Drinks are what allow most restaurants to stay afloat.

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AzNDarkSamurai posted...

Word on the street is that restaurants make chump change off delivery services. I hear some restaurants dont even want to partner with them.

Delivery services take a sizable chunk of the money. Source: am a restaurant owner. The delivery service I'm working with takes 13% of every order.

A few companies based out of China and San Fran (w/ Saudi Arabia money) in my city have been scooping up out of business kitchens and even buying a bunch of warehouse space and turning them into kitchens since the summer, turning them into 100% delivery based, restaurant quality kitchens. We have more than 50 of these being built out. They are called virtual, cloud, or ghost kitchens.

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AngelsNAirwav3s posted...

A few companies based out of China and San Fran (w/ Saudi Arabia money) in my city have been scooping up out of business kitchens and even buying a bunch of warehouse space and turning them into kitchens since the summer, turning them into 100% delivery based, restaurant quality kitchens. We have more than 50 of these being built out. They are called virtual, cloud, or ghost kitchens.

oh yeah I saw a few of those pop up around here in the bay.

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