The Refractive Thinker® Vol. XX: Crisis Management

Chapter 7 Strategies for Restaurant Survival During a Pandemic

By: Dr. Veda Allen-Barnes, Dr. Desiree Auchey

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

Publish date: April 6, 2021. Join contributing scholars in their discussion of their doctoral research findings regarding effective crisis management strategies. Doctoral scholars will share current research and their words of wisdom regarding what we have learned from various crises within the current generation as global discussion continues to shape the business landscape. Are you in the know regarding the most up-to-date and effective strategies in your field of study? Come join us to be part of the conversation of future success in business leadership around the world.
The recent pandemic presented an opportunity for restaurants to change their business model to survive and become more efficient. Government regulations imposed on restaurants restricted hours and required social distancing resulting in lost sales and loss of jobs to millions of restaurant employees. Recently, with the onset of the 2019 pandemic, the restaurant business halted and produced job losses of over 8 million in the first six months of 2020 (Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2020). Unfortunately, the leisure and hospitality sector is vulnerable to the increasing frequency and severity of natural disasters and pandemics, which often result in substantial financial losses (Kim et al., 2020). The pandemic of 2019 created a disaster for the U.S. restaurant industry as it impacted their customer base, which affected their financials and cash flow; it was considered unprecedented and filled with uncertainty (Nhamo et al., 2020). Grounded in resource-based view theory, the purpose of this study was to explore successful strategies restauranteurs use in periods of crisis. The participants comprised 10 restaurateurs in the Northeast United States who effectively used creative and innovative strategies to survive the pandemic. Data were collected from semi-structured interviews and company social media platforms, and six themes emerged: financials, supply chain, employee retention, marketing, customer retention, and governmental support.