The last few months have been an exercise in transformation for restaurants. Business models have been completely overhauled. Teams have been redeployed and, in many cases, reduced in size. Menus and supply chains have been reimagined. Working practices and leadership at all levels has been re-examined.
Behind all of these changes are people: Business leaders making difficult decisions to help their companies survive, employees showing up to work day after day, and vendors and partners using their resources to help in new ways.
In this report, we highlight the human moments behind these business moves. NRN reached out to foodservice professionals throughout the industry about what they’ve seen and how their teams have adapted in the face of unprecedented challenges, during the multiple crises that have plagued the U.S. since the beginning of the year. We’re documenting those dispatches here and adding more every week.
Some shared passionate first-person essays in their own words. Others spoke with our editors, who relay their stories here. The result is a look at the complex emotions and difficult decisions facing restaurant professionals today.
These men and women talked about closing restaurants, changing decades-old names and practices, cutting salaries and furloughing employees. They walked us through exactly how they built their crisis management plans, and how they are protecting their workers and their customers. They shared feelings of helplessness, but also moments of hope and heroism.
Here are their stories.
If you have a story you'd like to share, e-mail Holly at [email protected].
Ryan Zink, Bad Daddy's Burger Bar
Laura Rea Dickey, Dickey's Barbecue Pit
John Secretan, Zinc Café & Market
Aaron Deal, The River and Rail
Mazen Albatarseh, Cotton Patch Cafe
