Harvest America CUES BLOG

This may seem like a strange topic for a blog focused on the restaurant industry and the world of food but hear me out. Well, the pandemic is over, wait – no, the pandemic is not over – oh, the pandemic is now an endemic – wait “long-Covid” will be with many of us for some time; and the beat goes on. Long Covid has been used as a term to loosely identify lingering health challenges associated with contracting the virus and are oftentimes quite debilitating to those affected, but could this be also associated with a societal challenge resulting from a pandemic?

Sometimes the cure for a problem is as bad as the problem itself. People find ways to adapt and adapt is what we did for three years. First caught by surprise we were paralyzed not knowing where to turn or what to do. “How can we function? How will we be able to pay our bills if we can’t go in to work? How will we work if we can’t interact?”

 There were more questions than answers and then we found a solution. “Let’s find ways to work remotely”. Zoom became our office (for many businesses – not all) and suddenly we had a way to function, at least at some level. Over time we got better at it and more comfortable talking to a screen rather than standing six feet apart. It was strange at first, but then we gradually dressed up a room in our house, set up our computers, turned on the Keurig Coffee Maker and spent our days flipping from one virtual meeting to another. In some cases, productivity improved, in many cases it went in the other direction, but at least we were open for business.

People became accustomed to the change in operation and found, in many cases, that they were able to better manage the dilemma of work/life balance. “I can’t meet at that time – I am home schooling my kids from 9am-11am, or I have a virtual doctor’s appointment at 1pm.” Hmmm…many people adjusted quickly and found that they preferred this to rush hour traffic and eight hours in the office. In fact, they became so accustomed that when the coast seemed to be clear they began to fight to maintain this model of operation. The battle continues today as more and more companies find themselves at an impasse with employees who insist on working from home. So why not? What’s the harm in continuing in this way and by the way – what does this have to do with restaurants anyway.

So, be careful of the lure of greener grass. In the sixties and seventies there was a huge demographic shift in our country as families moved from the fast pace of the city to suburbia. A place where green lawns, flower gardens, friendly postal carriers, and safety were the standard. A place away from the city (at least for part of the day). Sure, someone had to commute to the city for work, but the balance of life took place in the outskirts. Malls were built, neighborhoods grew, small businesses found a home in more rural environments, and kids felt safe walking to school. Cities were where you worked, and suburbia was where you lived.

In the eighties, nineties and beyond, a younger generation was compelled to move back to urban centers where they could find “culture”: entertainment, better restaurants, a nightlife with plenty of bars, and the style that accompanies city life. Cities grew even larger and more complex, high-end apartments flourished, businesses grew, restaurants popped up overnight, and the streets of cities were once again bustling with foot and vehicle traffic. Cities were where money was made, where reputations were built, and where life seemed complete.

Now, the post pandemic paradigm has caused more than a normal shift in demographics, it has fueled a change in how people define living, how businesses function, how money is made, and how those businesses view their employees. With fewer people going into work there is less need for very expensive downtown office space – office buildings are empty compared to their peak just a few years prior. Fewer people working in offices means less retail shopping traffic, so stores are closing, moving, or simply calling it quits. Less traffic means less business for gas stations and parking lots that are now struggling to make ends meet. And urban bars and restaurants are finding it near impossible to fill their seats (especially during the once busy lunch period) and meet the cost of doing business. Less restaurant traffic means fewer jobs and challenges to pay scales that just a few months ago were finally moving in the right direction. Could long-term Covid be impacting the way we live even more than our physical health?

Now comes the even greater societal change. People are social, by nature. Sure, there are those who shy away from social contact, but for the most part we enjoy being around other people, making friends, finding ways to develop relationships, sharing ideas, commiserate, and yes, gossip a little. It is how communities thrive, how great ideas are nurtured, and how we all manage to find enjoyment in life. Suddenly, much of that is lost as the environment of socialization crumbles. Loneliness creeps in, isolation breeds a lack of trust, and even festers anger, anxiety, and a sense of worthlessness. You can see it moving in and taking up lodging in our social media streams, in books that are published, articles in the news, music that is written, and a change in what we find on our televisions. This shift toward desocialization is eating at the very fabric of our lives and it happened so quickly that we barely noticed.

Restaurants have always been gathering places – meccas for people to get together and share, to laugh, to raise a glass, and of course to enjoy the bounty of great food. As this desocialization takes hold – driving people away from a career in restaurants and forcing operators to look for ways to create efficiency in an employment desert, the concept of hospitality suffers and those places that once were safe environments for interaction to take place are slowly becoming less so. This is a real danger to not only those of us who work in the business of food but for society as a whole. We must protect the sacredness of restaurants and those sanctuaries for social networking. It is the workplace, the classroom, the retail business, and the restaurant where this has always taken place. This is important – a situation worthy of our attention. Safety is important, our physical health is important, work/life balance is important, but so is the social environment where we live and our mental and emotional health as well.

Food for thought.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

Restaurant Consulting

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