In light of the ongoing changes in consumer behavior during an interim period of time, we have compiled the following FAQ for Downtown Huntsville area food and beverage establishments (“Downtown Establishments”) to consider as they address food, beverage, and retail service during the COVID-19 (“Coronavirus”) disruptions. Please note that this information represents only general planning concepts rather than any formal guidelines or instructions. Downtown Establishments should continue to monitor official Federal, State, and Local Coronavirus resources for official information.
Q: Where Can I Find General Coronavirus planning information related to the food and beverage industry?A: We recommend that you review this coronavirus-specific information from the National Restaurant Association and from ServSafe. along with these links to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention business operations and general Coronavirus information, State of Alabama, Department of Public Health, and City of Huntsville. Local employment technology firm, Spur, has also developed these useful information sheets: General Guidance on COVID-19 for Employers and Federal Families First Coronavirus Legislation Overview for Employers.
Q: What are the current State restrictions on visiting food and beverage establishments?
A: The Public Health Officer for the State of Alabama released a new list of stringent containment policies for communities to follow to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. These include full school closures, senior center closures, pre-school and childcare closures, nursing home restrictions, delayed elective-medical procedures, limited gatherings of no more than 25 persons, bar closures, and no on-premise consumption of food and beverages in restaurants. Mayor Tommy Battle says the City of Huntsville will immediately follow these policies in the best interest of public health. You can read the full order given by Governor Ivey HERE.
Q: Now that guests can’t consume or congregate within our establishment, are there practical ways to stay engaged with them?
A: With guests no longer permitted to consume or congregate in your food and beverage establishment, it would seem that live music, live trivia or other live activities might not be feasible, but that’s actually not the case. Food, beverage, and entertainment establishments can still stream live music performances, trivia nights, live comedy and other performances via your website, certain social media platforms, and certain third-party websites. And, while doing so, you can include a “digital tip jar” that allows viewers to add tips for the performers and/or your staff. This can be an innovative way to keep some amount of revenue coming in for performers and employees as well as interacting with your guests. In these more isolated times, continued live interaction with guests is an important part of the positive psychology of customer service.
Q: I heard that the Alabama ABC Board has passed some emergency regulations in light of the current situation. What are the details?
A: The Alabama ABC Board has passed an emergency order that provides temporary curbside delivery and payment at breweries and designated establishments in sealed containers for a defined amount. HERE is a link to the official order.
Q: With all these changes, I’ve had to change our hours of operation and methods of operation. What are some straightforward ways to keep our customers aware of these changes?
A: Food and beverage establishments are highly encouraged to post their updated food service protocols for to-go, curbside and delivery options on all of your social media platforms. In addition, when a social media platform allows for doing so, you are encouraged to “pin” this post to the top of your page (ex: Pinning the post to the top of your Facebook page). Additional strategies to share your updated protocols include posting them on your website and distributing them via any email lists you distribute to guests. The key objective is to make it as easy and convenient as possible for guests to read your updated protocols.
Q: With restaurants and entertainment venues closed, how can I still support employees and performers?A: There are some great tools out there to encourage customers to digitally tip their servers. Below are a few we found useful:
Huntsville Industry Service Tips is a really simple yet useful concept. Just go to the link and a randomly-selected service industry worker will pop up on the screen (workers must submit to participate—there’s a link there for that too). You can then “tip” them via on-line payments like Venmo and others. In addition to just tipping because you want to support them, another idea is to use this digital tip jar to tip a worker each time you eat a meal or consume a beverage that you would have likely done at a restaurant, brewery, or bar if not for the restrictions.
The social distancing restrictions at bars, restaurants, and other entertainment venues also means that musicians and other live performers are losing gigs. HuntsvilleMusic.com has developed detailed instructions on how to add “digital tips” for musicians. Check out the innovative program, here.
Did you know that one of the country’s largest digital streaming entertainment companies is based right in Downtown Huntsville? We reached out to Fandom (formerly Curse) President Donovan Duncan and asked a simple question: what’s an effective way for musicians and other live performers to add digital tip opportunities to their streaming performances? Our conversation ended up at this really useful Boxcast post detailing how to collect donations from your live stream.
Not only can this be used for music-streaming performances but you could also use it for streaming live trivia, live comedy acts and even cooking and bartending demonstrations that you stream from your establishment. This could be a great way to stay engaged with your audience while also generating some revenue for your team!
Q: What are some practical tips as we consider increasing or adding to-go, curbside, and delivery options?
A: Most research anticipates that consumers will still seek “out of home” prepared food and beverage during this anticipated disruption. We recommend that you begin contingency plans for the following even if just for a short-term period of time:
To-Go and Curbside Dining
Evaluate whether your customers could order on-line (including on-line payment) and pick up their food with minimal physical interaction in the transaction (ex: e-signing receipts rather than using a common terminal or common pens).
Evaluate your to-go packaging capabilities. This can be minimalized to only the meal’s serving container leaving utensils and napkins to the customer in their home.
Restrict your restroom access to employee’s only
Clearly mark (such as with tape on the ground) six-foot separate distances for those waiting to order to-go or waiting for their to-go order
Delivery Restaurant Dining
With the likelihood of self-quarantine and other isolation protocols, can your food and beverage establishment convert to a delivery model for the short term? Several Downtown area restaurants are evaluating this model and preparing to implement it as a short-term business change to address social distancing and other isolation protocols.
This temporary model could provide an opportunity for current server employees to convert to delivery employees while retaining some amount of kitchen staff.
Key issues in this temporary modification include a) ordering payment in advance of delivery (to reduce direct transactions at delivery), b) procuring sufficient food packaging for delivery, and c) researching legal and regulatory issues related to food delivery versus in-restaurant dining