As people search for missed experiences, restaurant owners have recreated dining in a safe way.
The challenge for restaurants is to rethink the business strategy and lure customers back to the table again.
An FMT Lifestyle team recently returned to restaurant dining, their first meal out in almost three months since the movement control order on March 18.
It was also a chance for the team to gauge how restaurants were coping with the revival of eating out.
Here are some observations about dining at their favourite joint, Hard Rock Café (HRC) Kuala Lumpur at Wisma Concorde on Jalan Sultan Ismail, during the current recovery control movement order.
Well for starters, HRC KL wasn’t the pretty rockstar they knew. It was 7pm, and she wasn’t throbbing.
Physical distancing and protection for staff meant it all looked different at a place where queues once formed.
After temperature checks, health declarations and sanitisation at the door, they were led to a table.
Tables were sanitised and two metres apart.
They were informed that if they were frontliners, there was a 50% discount on one a la carte item and merchandise.
As newsmen, they were eligible.
Every staff wore masks and gloves throughout the evening.
Communication between the server and the team was understandably muffled. A minor bother.
There was light music. Vastly different from the high-spirited atmosphere pre-Covid-19.
They weren’t used to dining in such a way at HRC, but their delight in eating out again prevailed.
They settled for reasonably priced local dishes, pleasantly surprised that the many taxing variables for restaurant owners to navigate, did not force prices up.
Simple math: More space between tables means fewer diners, which means less revenue.
HRC KL general manager Ranjit Singh said the restaurant seating was reduced from 160 to just 85, while the wraparound bar seats were down to 25 from 55.
He said, “Our business now is focused on local clientele to support the renewal of the economy.
“We are also wary of customers unwilling to spend a lot on elaborate dishes.”
Ranjit said the important thing now was to win the customer’s faith back.
“The first step is to convince patrons that they are in a safe environment, and we are positive that this makeover will continue to make it a city landmark,” he said.
Ranjit said HRC was ready to support the local music industry when the ban on live entertainment was lifted.
Dining out is not just about what’s on the plate.
It’s about how much a venue, even if it is a global brand, cares about local sentiments.
It’s about being with loved ones, running into people you had not seen for ages, and sharing a table with pals.
It’s about gratitude toward the staff for trying, and appreciation for the hospitality.
* Hard Rock International, owned by the Seminole tribe in the US, recently celebrated its 49th anniversary while the one here will turn 29 in November.