Your mind is on the holidays — so are the minds of restaurant operators. The holiday season is a big time for restaurants to capitalize on people wanting to get together with friends, family or coworkers.
“This is traditionally when they gear up and bring in the cash flow that helps them stem over the slow time in January, February, March, when restaurant volume is way down,” says Wisconsin Restaurant Association Executive Vice President Susan Quam.
This is important in the recovery of restaurants post-pandemic. Quam explains that there were winners and losers during the pandemic — quick-service and take-out did well, and restaurants that got revitalization dollars were able to stay open. On the flip-side, it was primarily sit-down establishments that didn’t get monetary aid that shut their doors or will likely close up shop during the upcoming slow period.
There’s roughly 13,000 eating and drinking establishments that people would typically classify as a restaurant. Wisconsin is a leading state in the number of restaurants per capita. And that number hasn’t really changed even with a pandemic that hurt the service industry, says Quam.
“What we’re seeing though, is that the type of the restaurants that are closing, many of which are your typical sit-down, table service restaurants. They’re not being replaced by new table service restaurants,” she explains. “They’re being replaced by counter-service restaurants, restaurants with drive throughs, ghost kitchens.”
Ghost kitchens are kitchens that only do delivery or carry-out.
In addition to adjusting the style of service to meet patron demand, automation is becoming more popular to streamline either the kitchen or front-of-house area. This is to help restaurants be more efficient with less employees without jeopardizing customer service, Quam says.
Automation also helps restaurants fight inflation. Inflation is a No. 1 driver holding Wisconsin restaurants back. For restaurants, inflation is twice as high as the consumer price index. Restaurants that are coming online have reduced labor needs with automation and have streamlined menus to reduce food costs.
While 2023 is destined to continue a labor shortage and high input costs for restaurants, Quam says restauranteurs’ entrepreneurial mindset and innovative tendencies will help Wisconsin’s dining scene prevail.
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