Podcast

2 restaurateurs' views over 2 weeks of US pandemic

March 27, 2020

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Podcast Summary

Henderson

On today's QSRweb podcast, we get the view of the evolution of the pandemic in the restaurant industry over the last two weeks, thanks to interviews with two U.S restaurateurs recorded two weeks apart.

On March 12 — before most pandemic restrictions canceling dine-in took effect nationally — the president of the Salad Station chain, which is part brick-and-mortar, part-salad robot, told us an overall optimistic growth outlook for his business. Unfortunately, in the time since then Salad Station President Scott Henderson said things have come to look much more grim, even for the robotic express models for the brand, which are locked inside empty office buildings and locked down hospitals. That interview caps off the second have of this show.

But we start with an interview recorded Thursday afternoon, a full two weeks after we recorded our discussion with Henderson. And even though the stimulus package has now passed the Senate, the CEO of Toledo, Ohio-based, Balance Grille, said those 14 days of closed dining in in Ohio are

(l-r) Karamchandani, with co-owner HoChan Jang & partner Dan Sadoski in aquaponics facility.

levying an incredibly heavy toll. It has been, according to Balance Grille CEO Prakash Karamchandani, a complete 180 for the industry that has taken operators and employees with it.

Taken together, the two interviews give a feel for the sheer sudden-ness of the crisis that has naturally left every restaurateur in a sort of shell-shocked state, and desperately in need of guidance in this unprecedented situation. But perhaps what operators need most of all right now is support from customers in any way they can give it.

Inset photos: Provided