Food delivery: the restaurants reinvention to confront the coronavirus shutdown

With the forced closure of restaurants due to the state of alarm decreed by the Spanish Government, the home food delivery has become the alternative of many restaurants to generate incomes and ease the negative economic impact of the coronavirus crisis.

Spain has been in a state of alarm since March 14^th. The Royal Decree approved by the Spanish Government forced the closure of restaurants for the public, but allowed the provision of food delivery services, either through delivery platforms – such as Glovo, Just Eat or Uber Eats, among others – or through their own means.

This opened the door for some independent restaurants to reinvent themselves in order to face this new situation and they opted for home food delivery. Orders through whatsapp, local and proximity restaurant directories with home delivery options that are growing almost daily or take away options are some of the initiatives that some restaurants are carrying out during these days.

Continue invoicing to subsist

The hospitality industry in Spain. Source: 2019 Spanish Hospitality Yearbook.

Although there is still no official data on how many restaurants have opted to join the food at home, the Guild of Restaurants of Barcelona points out two key arguments that have led some establishments to open their kitchens: avoid layoffs and continue invoicing.

The hotel and catering industry is a sector which employs 1.7 million workers and represents 6.2% of Spanish GDP, of which 4.7% comes from the F&B, according to data from the 2019 Spanish Hospitality Industry Yearbook.

Diego Ramos, a consultant of the HORECA and retail industry, and a specialist in digital transformation for restaurant companies, points out: “I believe that if the situation of complete standstill is prolonged, delivery can be an element of resistance to survive.”

It is presented in the article The issues that interest us all seen through the prism of the covid-19, as a strategy of “guerrilla economy” that allows to go on for a few months based on “planning a delivery service that with the costs cut to the minimum can reach a turnover that at least balances the profitability to 0.”

Food and delivery for heroes

Regarding the crisis situation generated by the coronavirus pandemic, delivery has also been lightened with solidarity. Thus, catering establishments have promoted solidarity initiatives to deliver food to professionals in the health sector.

This is the case, for example, of “Food 4 Heroes“, launched in Madrid by Grosso Napoletano with the aim of delivering food to the health centres of the city’s hospitals. This solidarity action has been joined by many restaurant chains who have followed his example in other cities, such as Barcelona.

In this concrete case, with the project “Delivery for heroes“: restaurants in Barcelona have joined forces to deliver food to the more than 200 people working in the city’s hospitals.