Typically around this time of year, we do a post on the top stories that made waves in the restaurant industry. But let’s be real for a sec – 2020 was an absolute dumpster fire as COVID-19 ran rampart across the globe. Everything that changed or altered the restaurant industry can be traced back to the virus.

With that said, we’re fond of tradition and still want to do a top restaurant stories of 2020. So this year we’ll take a look at how 2020/coronavirus changed the restaurant industry.

Record-level Restaurant Closures & Lost Employment

Restaurants closed in record numbers due to COVID-19 & lack of Congressional support.

Let’s get the worst of the changes out of the way first. This is, by far, the worst change to come out of the COVID-19 crisis.

As of September, more than 100,000 restaurants had closed due to the pandemic and nearly 3 million restaurant employees have lost work. The restaurant industry, which was original poised for 4% growth ($899 billion revenue) is now slated for a whopping $240 billion loss. Restaurants that have managed to keep their doors open have had to adapt quickly to the market changing at lightspeed (more in the later sections).

The good news is that there are several programs that have started to help unemployed restaurant workers and their families such as:

But there’s only so much those funds and the likes of Guy Fieri can do to soften the blow to the industry. Meanwhile, we all wait for Congress (specifically the Senate) to stop sitting on their thumbs and pass another relief and stimulus bill.

Restaurant Delivery & Carryout Boomed

Restaurants saw a boost in delivery, carryout, and takeout orders due to COVID19.

At the start of all this, a ton of restaurants were forced to close or, at least, stop on-premises dining. But Americans love their restaurant experiences and wanted a little piece of “normal” while being cooped up in their homes.

This led directly to a huge boom in restaurant delivery demand and carryout. According to Finance services company Rewards Network, almost half of restaurants that closed (42%) added a delivery service and 31% of operators said they plan on continual investment of delivery. Meanwhile, delivery is now projected to hit $45 billion by the end of the year; originally, the industry wasn’t expected only to hit $41 billion by the end of 2021. Nearly three years of consumer spending on delivery had been accelerated because of COVID.

Many restaurants, needing to add delivery quickly, joined a third-party delivery service to hit the ground running. However, surprisingly enough, consumers prefer to order delivery straight from the restaurant and not a third-party provider. A study concluded this was fueled by consumers not liking delivery fees, minimum order amounts, and third-party delivery models. This is good news for restaurants who have opted for an in-house delivery team, as it means they can keep all the revenue earned from delivery and not split with the third-party service.

And while delivery is booming, it’s still not getting the largest pie of off-premises transactions in 2020. According to Statista, carryout orders has made up 53% of off-premises restaurant orders. Drive-thru has made 38%, and delivery just 9%.

Restaurants Deliver More than Meals

Restaurants delivered more than food during the coronavirus pandemic crisis.

Restaurants that had to close their dining rooms sometimes turned to delivering more than just meals. Normal household supplies – like toilette paper and paper towels – were on short supply for the first couple of months of quarantine in the US. This was driven by people being at home during workhours mixed with panic buying, and the distribution process needing to shift gears to produce more home goods than office supplies.

Some restaurant operators saw an opportunity to fill that demand by reselling paper goods (among other items) they already had in stock or could get from their distributors. Some restaurants even threw in a free toilette paper roll with every order over a certain size. This created a new revenue stream for restaurants while allowing consumers to support their local restaurants over large supermarket chains.

Similarly, some restaurants created weekly meal kits that local consumers could order. Again, this leveraged the restaurant’s unique position of having direct access to food distributors while filling the consumer demand as people hoarded food and other goods.

Restaurants in some states also got the opportunity to delivery alcohol to consumers where it had previously been prohibited. This has only led to a 1-5% increase in sales; however, this could be a lack of public knowledge as much as lack of interest. So, if you have an alcohol to-go program, make sure your guests know about it!

New Floor/Seating Plans

Restaurants got creative with seating plans to comply with COVID-19 social distance guidelines.

Eventually – for better or worse – states relaxed restrictions and allowed restaurants to serve guests on-premise again. The catch was the number of guests a restaurant could sit at any onetime was greatly reduced. Eateries also had to adhere to strict social distance guidelines and masking policies.

Again, restaurant operators found creative ways of managing and working around these restrictions. Some built outdoor dining areas to increase the number of guests they could serve at any one time, while decreasing the risk of transmission.

Some municipalities closed off sidewalks and downtown roads, allowing restaurants to expand their outdoor dining area to accommodate additional guests.

Meanwhile, back indoors, some restaurants got fun with their social distance marking, such as using stuffed animals to mark off which tables not to use. Not only does this make for quick reference for staff looking at the dining room, but also added a little bit of levity into a dour year. And stuffed animals is the… uh… least creepy way operators went with.