New dining formats

The outlook for restaurants in America is bleak. According to experts, 75% of independent restaurants in America “won’t make it” and The National Restaurant Association predicts the entire industry will lose $225 billion in the coming three months because of the pandemic. States are slowly allowing restaurants to reopen with strict regulations, but many business owners who are not offering deliveries or pivoting business to sell food boxes or even groceries are taking their time to decide on reopening.

Dining out will not be the same again. Many restaurants are regaining people’s trust by strictly following safety regulations. Others are going a step further by purposely installing design that makes for a unique and memorable dining experience and some are using this time as a “reset”.

In China, the government is using a health app that indicates a person’s status via a color code—green, yellow or red. Originally used for those wanting to travel, restaurants and cafes are increasingly requesting customers to show their color code before entering.

Yardbird Hong Kong reopened in April using plexiglass dividers between booths, only allowing parties with a maximum of four people and sanitizing surfaces every 30-minutes. Lindsay Jang, cofounder of Yardbird Hong Kong notes that the “energy” in the restaurant is not the same, however she believes people appreciate the boundaries put in place so that they feel safe whilst dining there.

Kay’s Boutique café in Bangkok, Thailand opened again on 3 May 2020, with a two-meter distance rule for tables, temperature checks, thorough sanitation, partitions between diners, employees in masks and face shields, contactless payment and their iconic flower tunnel remains open but will limit the number of guests to three at a time.

Dining experiences that cater to large groups are going through a rethink too. Bangkok’s Penguin Eat Shabu hotpot restaurant have put up plastic dividers with the help of white PVC piping and are only allowing a maximum of two people per hotpot to share.

One restaurant in Amsterdam is changing their dining set-up to create one that is safe, intimate and atmospheric. Mediamatic ETEN installed Serres Séparées (separated greenhouses) along the waterfront as a solution to distanced dining. Opening for business on 21 May, booking released for that week and June are fully reserved.

Originally designed as a test, the dining pods are going ahead. “In these times we are reinspired by contamination precautions and the redesign of togetherness,” Mediamatic says on its site. “Our greenhouses protect you from the outside and others while offering you a unique experience of intimate dining.”

Denmark will soon announce the second phase of openings which could include restaurants and cafes in mid-May. However, some restaurants are taking the time to rethink business and not rush to open immediately.

Noma, which currently ranks second place in the World’s 50 Best Restaurants, announced on their site they will delay opening the restaurant until June 2 at the earliest. Speaking to Vanity Fair, chef and co-owner René Redzepi suggests Noma will be rethinking what people will be looking for when they choose to dine out. “No one is dreaming of sitting down for five hours over a 10-course meal,” Redzepi says. “We’re dreaming of being out with friends, ordering two bottles of champagne and a big platter of shellfish.”