Restaurant Resources

What is different about the way people are ordering takeout now?

• People are no longer ordering take away for one or two people. Entire families are at home together. They now want 4 portions of lasagna packaged in a single container that can be stored and reheated for dinner and a good idea is to add a large salad so the kids will eat something green. Consider family options that allow you to batch cook and consolidate packaging to minimize costs on disposables.
• Since guests may not eat the food right away, they will refrigerate or freeze the food to be enjoyed at a later time. Include information on the shelf life of the food (For example: Keeps in fridge for 3 days, or may be frozen for up to one month.") is recommended. Also add reheating instructions for all components of the meal to ensure your guests are not over (or under) cooking their food and will enjoy this meal at its best potential.

How do I adapt my menu for takeout and/or delivery?

• Pare down your offerings and focus on cost effective items that hold/travel well. For example, french fries don't hold well and will be soggy after just a few minutes in a container. If you typically offer french fries as a side dish, consider replacing them with a side item such as tater tots, pasta salad, macaroni & cheese, potato chips, etc.

What is the best way for me to package meals?

• The most important thing to do is to package unlike items separately. Don't place a hot protein on top of cold salad greens. Package each item separately and allow the guest to assemble when they are ready to enjoy. For family style meals, various components may require different reheating times and instructions. Package the items separately and, again, make sure the information that goes in the bag includes storage and reheating info for each meal component. Don't assume that they know their way around a kitchen! You may also want to indicate if the packaging you provide is oven, microwave or freezer safe.

What else goes in the bag?

• Reheating instructions, storage instructions, shelf/ fridge life. Not likely that guests need plastic utensils and napkins - everyone is eating at home. Include promotions for a return to draw them back the next time they want takeout.

What kind of packaging/disposables should i use?

• As the needs have changed and customers are ordering larger, family-style meals, the takeout / TO GO containers need to change as well. The styrofoam clam shell continue causes food to sweat when traveling and does not store left overs well.
• We also recommend communicating with customers to transfer all of the delivery/pick up meals immediately to their own plates and storage containers, wash their hands and dispose of all delivery items as soon as possible.

What about technology – what do I need to consider?

• Look at your website and online ordering menus. If it takes several clicks to find the menu or how to place order, you could lose business. Keep it simple and easy to find the menu, look at the options and only include those items that travel well and hold well.
• This may be the time to highly consider Zifty, DoorDash or Grubhub type aggregate delivery services as these platforms are simple and allow for multiple orders in a "quick, click on the item and move on" type of setting.