Supporting Restaurants and The 12 Days of… Takeout!
Since the pandemic hit the country in March, over 100,000 restaurants have closed their doors. As we head into the holiday season, a new campaign called The 12 Days of Takeout aims to support small business eateries and drinking establishments. How? By encouraging people to order takeout every day from December 12th to the 23rd.
The Latino Restaurant Association is partnering with the campaign. Its CEO, Lilly Rocha, recognizes the struggle of restaurant owners and workers and the importance of sharing resources, advocacy, and education. Today, Sid and Jesse talk with Lilly about her insights into the culinary industry and discuss this new initiative. We summarize their conversation below.
Where does the idea behind the campaign come from?
Jesse: The idea behind the 12 Days of Takeout campaign was born out of a social media post asking how we can help support impacted restaurants. The responses quickly summed it up: Spend money on them. Buy products and services whenever and wherever you can.
Sid: The campaign is simple. We ask people to go out and make purchases as usual, and take an extra step to celebrate it on social media with your friends and family and encourage them to do the same. Hopefully, this community mobilization will gain momentum and really make a huge difference for the struggling businesses in our neighborhoods.
What are you working on in 2021?
Lilly: We are seeing that the restaurants who have pivoted to technology solutions quickly have been more successful. A high number of Latino-owned restaurants are not as visible online or on social media. To address this, next year we are launching two six-week training courses focusing on technology. They will also be offered in Spanish.
We are positioning ourselves to respond to other needs as well, such as leveraging business growth strategies, filling out forms, and any follow-up actions around the CARES Act. We will also be promoting Dine Latino, a one-week initiative to support Latino-owned restaurants throughout California.
What is the best way to order food from small businesses?
Lilly: Call the restaurant first to see what their preference is and the options that they offer. Businesses do struggle with the commission that is taken from delivery apps, but at the moment every order makes a difference in helping these businesses make ends meet through the holidays.
What advice do you have for folks on a budget?
Lilly: Many restaurants offer specials and family packs. Some platforms also offer discount codes for new restaurants.
Do you think COVID-19 will affect the way we consume food and drinks from restaurants in the future?
Lilly: I think we will see an increase in “ghost kitchens” – an alternative location to your primary business site, where your food is prepared so that customers can receive their food faster. This was a rising trend pre-pandemic and it has only been accelerating.
Some restaurants are also creating new brands out of their existing kitchens. It is a creative way to experiment with success of different types of offerings.
That’s not to say that restaurants will shut down, but we will definitely see the emergence of innovative new solutions such as the ghost kitchen.
Jesse: For so many, the traditional business model is no longer sustainable. We are seeing innovation among restaurants and in other industries as well. Movies are going straight to streaming, for example. Many of these changes have brought so much convenience to consumers.
To hear the full interview, check out the Hack My Business episode here. To learn more about The 12 Days of Takeout campaign and join in the fun, visit our website here!
You can reach Lilly and the Latino Restaurant Association at www.latinorestaurantassociation.org, on Instagram @latinorestaurantassociation, or at 925-212-4016.
