Pizza Today - May 2021 - 53

"

Pizza for table four is ready.
Wings for table 12 are in
the window. " These are the
common sounds that were
heard in the restaurant every day.
Then suddenly one day in March 2020
everything as we knew it changed.
There was a Global Pandemic. The state
mandated that all restaurant dining
rooms be immediately shut down. The
only thing that would be allowed was
takeout and delivery. They told us it
would take about two weeks to " flatten
the curve. " " Well, that's not terrible " , I
thought. " It's a pain, but I can deal with
two weeks. " The two weeks came and
went, then two more, and then another
month. Suddenly the whole script had
flipped. There really was no definitive end
in sight.

Before it all began, business was
always very brisk. Once pandemic
life hit us things changed. Now my
normally busy takeout and delivery
had become insanely mobbed. As one
revenue center plummeted to zero,
another one skyrocketed. The total
overall sales number was actually
higher, way higher! That certainly made
this new pandemic way of life easier for
me to accept. But other issues started
to arise as a result. My kitchen that is
designed for volume and speed was
now getting overtaxed. In the new
world of social distancing my staff was
crammed in way too close while trying
to pump everything out. I needed more
space and I needed it now. On top of
that I was walking into my restaurant
every morning only to see all of my
tables and booths pushed over to the
wall since they weren't in use. The
wasted space in my dining room really
began to eat at me as I was struggling
for space in the kitchen.
Then came the epiphany. What if I
got rid of all of the tables, moved my
takeout counter forward by 30 feet,
and opened up more kitchen space?
We could become strictly delivery and
takeout. I quickly dismissed the idea.
We were 85-percent takeout/delivery and 15-percent dining in during

normal times. The idea of scrapping my
45-seat dining room was nothing short
of insanity. I needed to come up with a
better idea.
Day after day went by. I continued
walking in every morning and staring
at those tables and booths pushed up
against the wall. I revisited the idea
in my head, but after 30 plus years in
the restaurant business the notion of
no dining room was too radical. That
was not how I was brought up in this
business.
Another week went by and I was
finally at wit's end. I could no longer
look at my scuttled dining room while
the kitchen struggled for more room to
handle the volume. I called my building
contractor and told him how I wanted
to change it all. He said, " Are you nuts? "
I quite possibly was, but I instructed
him to start as soon as possible before
I changed my mind. Low and behold a
week later I had a restaurant with zero
seating. Now there was a wide open,
comfortable area for folks waiting for
takeout orders. Delivery drivers had
their own pickup area. The counter
staff had expanded space for expediting
takeout orders. The kitchen now gained
that all so valuable room needed to
handle the surge in business. One
question remained in my mind. " Did I
just destroy my business? "
Being located in a family saturated
suburb always contributed to a high
volume of takeout. Our name is a
locally known brand with a large loyal
following, so we had a good foothold
moving forward. The results were
shocking. We got even busier. The pandemic shutdown had forced people to
change their dining habits. Since there
were no more dine-in options available
anywhere, those folks were now ordering takeout from different restaurants
most nights. We began to see an
increase in new customers. The physical
changes in the restaurant allowed us to
handle the surge very efficiently.
After about a month I was able to
compare my numbers to what they
had previously been. The results were
shocking! By eliminating the servers, I

was now saving on payroll, the matching of the taxes being withheld, and the
unemployment insurance. Since there
was no longer a dining room, I got rid
of the liquor license and the associated
high-cost liability insurance. Now there
was no need to constantly be buying
china, silver and glassware. Labor hours
were also decreasing for my dishwashers who no longer had to deal with a
million bus pans at night's end.
The only remaining issue was
the staff. I could not lay off my servers
in good conscience due to the concept change. The answer became clear.
Since takeout and delivery was now so
much busier, I shifted the servers over
to become supervisory counter staff.
This enabled the former servers to help
refine the methods of communication and interaction between staff and
customers picking up orders. They were
now teaching the conversational flow
and friendliness they exhibited with
dining guests to a younger and less
experienced counter staff. The restaurant staff circle of life was happening
right before my eyes.
As I stand here a year later with the
pandemic seemingly subsiding, I see
that the decision was prudent. Costs
dropped dramatically, sales went up,
and margins increased. As the world
starts to reopen there is still some
trepidation in my heart, but I know one
thing for certain. Dining habits have
changed. Families will soon start to
dine out again and that will inevitably
create a small decrease in DELCO
sales. One thing that remains, though,
is that it has become a very viable and
profitable model in our industry.
Make no mistake, my soul is still
crushed daily when I see that once
beautiful dining room now gone. But
I rest easy knowing that, though I may
be archaic in some of my ideas, I fought
through it and learned how well the
DELCO model works. The pandemic
hit us, but we adapted, we survived, and
we thrived! n
MICHAEL ANDROW owns E & D Pizza
Company in Avon, Connecticut.
M AY 2 0 2 1 / P I Z Z AT O D AY. C O M / 5 3

052_PIZ_0521_FTandrow.indd 55

4/7/21 9:36 AM
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Pizza Today - May 2021

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