How to Invest for the Future When Profits are Down

When six years of growth for the restaurant industry are wiped away in a year, it’s no surprise that the National Restaurant Association is saying that 2020 was the worst year for restaurants. With more vaccinations, restrictions are lifting and diners are returning in droves. However, costs are not returning to pre pandemic levels. Wages, food, turnover, rent, utilities, and other operational costs have stayed level or increased as supply chain, labor and transportation disruptions continue to pop up.

Standard cutbacks will no longer be enough to trim expenses, and any operator hoping to regain their profitability will need to find new places to invest to find operational efficiencies. Many restaurants invested in technology in 2020 that improved their off-premise capabilities, such as online ordering, delivery partnerships, and menu revisions.

Operators should continue to optimize these investments. The research is pointing toward off prem only continuing to grow in popularity…