Operations

How 1 VP balances take-out and dine-in operations

Mike Tillis, the VP of Operations and Support for Your Pie, discusses the restructuring of services to accommodate the needs of two disparate sets of customers.

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December 30, 2020 by Mike Tillis — VP of Operations, Your Pie

Who could have predicted when we flipped our calendars over to January 2020 one year ago, that within months the U.S. restaurant industry would be fighting for its life? That a global pandemic would soon shutter thousands of restaurant dining rooms and fundamentally change consumers' eating habits?

Long before the pandemic necessitated changes to our own service model, Your Pie followed the in-store dining concept, with customers selecting toppings for a fresh brick-oven pizza and then sitting down to enjoy it with friends and family. A year ago, some 80 to 85% of our business was in-store dining. Today, more than 55% of the chain's business comes from off-premise. These numbers seem to be consistent across all fast casual dining operations in 2020.

The statistics point to the massive transition that thousands of restaurants have had to make in order to keep on the lights. Those restaurants with the infrastructure in place to serve a to-go market were able to pivot fairly easily to new methods such as online ordering, third-party delivery services, and customer curbside pickup. But even restaurants that had some familiarity with off-premise service also had to make in-house adjustments to accommodate this new "line" of product.

Restaurant operators had to look at ways to redeploy staff within the restaurant to handle the increase in off-premise sales while not compromising the service to the dine-in guests. This included creating new positions within the existing framework to handle the amount of food being prepared "to go" alongside the food being prepared to be served in-house, most times on the existing production lines.

Regardless of how consumers will react to the return of ample in-dining choices when society is able to more fully reopen, many customers' preference for the convenience of pick-up and delivery services is here to stay. The trend was already gaining traction before the pandemic, driven by apps, third-party services, and growing menu options. So, dine-in restaurants that have been completely dormant during the pandemic may still have to learn to acknowledge and accommodate those new channels to remain competitive.

Conversely, for many customers, there is no substitute for grabbing a table with friends, ordering delicious food, and sharing an experience that transcends a meal. When restaurants are able to reliably provide full-service again, they will need to strike the operational balance between nurturing the needs of the traditional customer and catering to a growing sector that has become reliant upon eating at home.

As we look at the new roadmap for the restaurant industry, probably one of the biggest challenges will be learning how to restructure services to accommodate the needs of two disparate sets of customers. Ideally this will happen in a way that doesn't increase labor costs.

For example, a restaurant may need to have staff with specific "to-go" responsibilities or delivery drivers. And they may have to have someone deal with any issues with third-party delivery vendors and online interfaces. In the dining room, on the other hand, care must be taken that the hubbub around "food on the run" does not disrupt service and the welcoming experience to guests who have come to love the culture around their favorite restaurant.

In 2021, we need to be prepared to keep that restaurant experience and authenticity alive and well while growing the new sales channels.

Mike Tillis is the VP of Operations and Support for Your Pie, a national fast casual pizza franchise. A veteran of the restaurant industry, he spent more than 30 years in franchise leadership roles with Honeybaked Ham and Checkers Drive-In.

About Mike Tillis

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