Pizza Today - November 2020 - 38

COVI D-1 9

S PE C I A L

RE P ORT

pizzeria operators around the country
on page 41.
The Shutdown
Nearly 70 percent of pizzerias
experienced a closure of some sort
during the COVID-19 pandemic.
While 43 percent of pizzerias
experienced a closure of less than a
month, another 31 percent closed for
two months or more. As of August,
more than half of American pizzerias
operated without any dine-in business
and only 2.6 percent were operating at
100 percent dine-in capacity. With a
predicted fall/winter resurgence of the
virus, dine-in remains to be a gray area
in many business models.
How long did your restaurant(s)
remain closed?
6% Multiple closures
occured
31%
2 months
or more

19%
1 month

18%
Less than
week
13%
1-2 weeks
12%
3-4 weeks

Staffing Challenges Persist
Industry-wide staffing has been
significantly difficult. From March
until August, 44 percent of operators
furloughed or laid off employees. Of
those that reduced their workforce,
38 percent of those surveyed lost
50 percent or more of their team.
What percentage of your
workforce did you furlough?

There is a bright spot in the
employment forecast -72 percent
of operators have indicated that they
have been able to bring back their
furloughed staff. We've received
numerous reports that keeping fully
staffed has become the employment
challenge operators are currently trying
to solve.
The Operational Shift
To operate their restaurants, owners
had to think quickly and shift to a very
different model in some cases. Nearly
a quarter of pizzerias were already
operating a Delivery and Carryout
Only (DELCO) model. For those
restaurants, the shift was incorporating
the safety and sanitary procedures set
by the Center for Disease Control and
state and local governments.
Others initiated new programs
and services to either remain open or
reopen. Nearly 62 percent of pizzerias
went to a DELCO model. Curbside/
contact-free pick-up became the go-to
initiative. Before COVID-19, curbside
was a rare service offered by a very
small percentage of pizzerias. During
the pandemic, 69 percent of pizzerias
offered curbside. Over 43 percent also
offered contactless delivery. More
than a quarter of those surveyed took
advantage of outdoor seating capacity.

Pizzeria owners also got creative and
opened drive-thru operations as well
as sectioning off parking spaces and
parking lots for dining and carryout
operations. Some even set up either
food trucks outside of the restaurants
to aid during peak rushes or sent food
trucks into surrounding neighborhoods.
To add revenue, pizzerias even added
alcohol delivery and bodega/grocery
offerings. Common grocery items
included flour, yeast, produce, meats
and even sanitizing supplies.
In order to meet state and local
COVID-19 operational requirements,
pizzerias instituted several new and/
or enhanced measures, including
outsourcing a cleaning company, using
front of house dividers and shields,
added disposable paper and packaging,
PPE, enhanced cleaning supplies and
others, like UV light, changing front
of house floor plan, signs and distance
markers.
What additional precautions/safety
measures did you take in order to serve
guests to meet state/local COVID19
operation standards?
Enhanced
Cleaning
Supplies

Disposable
paper &
packaging

60%

Please select all initiatives you deployed
to continue operation during the
pandemic?
Carryout
&
Delivery
Only

40%
Outsource
Cleaning
Company

80%
Other

60%
Contactless
Delivery

80%

PPE

20%

Front of
house
divders &
shields

40%

24% more
than 75%
14%
51-75%
21%
26-50%

25%
10% or less

16%
11-25%

20%

Other Dine-In
Closed
but outdoor
dining
open

Curbside
Contactless
Pick-up

Carryout
Only

The financial investment of
instituting these measures to serve
guests during the COVID-19
Pandemic has been significant. Though,
58 percent of pizzerias have been able
to limit costs to less than $2,500. While
42 percent spent between $2,500 and
$7,499, 10 percent spent over $7,500.

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