Support the American Restaurant Industry During COVID-19 Restrictions

At Miami Beef®, we have been the wholesale meat processor and supplier to American restaurants and food franchises for over 100 years.  The relationships that we have built within the foodservice industry both nationally and internationally matter to us personally, and professionally. And that has not changed during Covid-19.

Every day we are hearing from the front lines of the foodservice industry, about the struggles as the Nation copes with the public health requirements for isolation and quarantine.  The restrictions that govern food service establishments during the COVID-19 outbreak vary by State.

In some areas, restaurants have been deemed to be a non-essential service and ordered to be closed for a stated quarantine period.   In other regions, the use of takeout and curbside pick-up for orders is being permitted both as a way to serve citizens who need the foodservice, and to help soften the blow for the restaurant industry.

The first priority during the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States (and globally) is the act of self-quarantine to try to suppress infection rates and protect the most prone members of our society, including the elderly, and immune-compromised individuals who are more susceptible to the most severe outcomes of the pneumonia-like respiratory infection.

For the restaurant industry, however, which is full of resilient and hard-working entrepreneurs and professionals, the impact has been catastrophic.   Millions of Americans are employed directly or indirectly by the foodservice industry, include these sectors:

• Restaurants
• Hospitality and tourism
• Catering
• Food trucks
• Cafeterias (educational or institutional)
• National restaurant franchises
• Food delivery services
• Entertainment and sporting event venues

While we know that the quarantine protocols are not easy on anyone and working from home during this pandemic can be less than convenient for many individuals and families, we’d like to take a moment to have compassion for the industry we serve.  The foodservice and restaurant sector.

There are many aspects of the foodservice industry that make profitability and growth a challenge for business owners and organizations.   Increased competition quality control, cost of resourcing ingredients and supplies, staffing shortages, and other challenges.

What many people do not understand is that the foodservice sector is like a big family.  It is the uphill challenges that small and medium-sized restaurants face that create a connection between their business, and that of their suppliers.  If you have ever worked in food service, you already know how a family like an environment can be.   And how much the team matters to the success and growth of any foodservice business.

When restaurants have no choice but to shutter their business to comply with mandatory public health orders, it is not just the revenues that they are losing on a daily basis.  It is the painful act of letting your staff go and laying them off so that they can receive at least a base income through unemployment; something your business may not be able to offer them at this time.

For restaurant business owners who were thriving with full tables and booked reservations for days ahead, to stare at an empty dining room is heartbreaking.  For many of these passionate entrepreneurs, they have sacrificed so much to build their business.  Find and train the right people.  Innovate the perfect menu and dining room experience.  It’s a labor of love against great adversity and challenges in the best of times. Right now, this might be the most devastating blow the foodservice sector has experienced since the Great Depression, over 91 years ago.

What Are Restaurant Owners Doing Right Now and How Are Other Occupations Impacted?

The last week of March meant a downsizing of staff or complete layoff of waitresses, sous chefs, dishwashers, dining room managers, bartenders, cleaning and other support staff.  Some of the restaurant owners we have spoken too were able to successfully reduce their staff, but with a heavy heart.   Who wants to let loyal and experienced employees go during a time of crisis, when they need their jobs the most?  That is part of the heavy burden that restaurant owners are facing right now.

Restaurants closing by mandate from State governments have a ripple effect.  That also means that delivery drivers and apps are not going to be busy if the restaurants are forced to close because they are not an essential service.  It means that commercial property owners may experience significant delays in lease payments for restaurant spaces, no customers, no revenue.

Because of the current economic climate, there may be few financial resources available for restaurant owners.   The regions where curbside pick up or delivery is still permitted by law, will see some restaurants migrate to a part-time weekly operation during the quarantine phase (which is now expected to last until the end of April 2020).  Ghost kitchens that operate in dense urban areas may continue to see steady revenues from takeout and delivery demand increasing, as quarantine measures become more restrictive to non-essential travel.

The truck drivers and logistics companies that deliver food products and other supplies to the restaurant industry are impacted as the orders to restock slow down or stop.  The manufacturers that produce or distribute fresh produce, meat, seafood, desserts, beverages, and baked goods are also impacted by the reverberating slow-down or cessation of operations for restaurants.

The economy, but particularly the foodservice sector is connected.  It is a normally competitive but thriving ecosystem of businesses that grow and prosper together.  And right now, the slowdown is impacting every industry, every business, supplier, wholesaler, and service provider related to the foodservice industry.

On behalf of our team at Miami Beef®, we want to thank our restaurant and commercial foodservice customers for the relationship we have established with you.  For our part, our food processing facility will continue to operate with heightened food safety protocols in consideration of the COVID-19 health risk. As a USDA Headquartered Plant, we already have top procedures in place to ensure food safety and sanitization; we are even more vigilant to protect the health of our staff, our commercial wholesale meat customers, and consumers.

We are a big family.  We will get through this, and we will have a new appreciation for an impossibly fully dining room or patio area at our establishments.  We will smile when the line of customers runs out the front door and wraps down the sidewalk again.  When your kitchen cannot keep up with takeout or delivery orders.

The foodservice industry is strong and full of good people who will fight to navigate their businesses through this difficult challenge.   And together, when this is over, we will welcome Americans back into the restaurants, pubs and bars, cafeterias, buffets, and special events that they love with great food, amazing service, and a heart of strength and appreciation.

We’re in this together.

From all of us at Miami Beef®.