Video by Cassandra Argao
Multimedia by Olivia Burwell
By Jenna Winger
Due to the impact that COVID-19 has had on normal social and economic interactions it has become increasingly difficult for the food industry to thrive.
Since the height of the virus earlier this year upwards of 50 restaurants have had to shut their doors for good, and restaurants who have remained open have suffered tremendous loss.
“All our weddings, all our festivals, all our concerts, everything was cancelled this year, so we did a few little catering events but even those were affected,” said Tom Antonarakis, the owner of Buster’s Sea Cove restaurants and food trucks.
Antonarakis mentioned that while restaurants are recouping losses by offering take out, that was not possible for him due to location, saying that people need to go back to work in-person in order for his business to succeed.
“As far as food trucks go you could get creative with it, bounce around, do little parties of 10 to 15 people but with the cost of everything these days it’s just not sustainable,” said Antonarakis.
The Royal George, in Appledore, UK offers possible solutions, tables are booked every two hours.
This method of reservation has increased revenue 20 per cent since 2019, overall it allows them to serve more plates despite having social distancing measures in place.
Story continues after interactive.
TIMELINE: Due to COVID restrictions many restaurants have had to consider different methods of service. (Olivia Burwell/JRN270)
“When the going gets tough the tough have to get going,” said Professor David Hughes, food industry expert, encouraging business owners who may be struggling to get creative in their solutions and to let the issues inspire you rather than just ‘waiting it out’.
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