New Jersey Food Think Tank Goes Live!

Alyssa Smolen, a graduate student in the Nutrition 和 Food Studies Department, recently wrote an article for Total Food Service on the creation of the New Jersey Policy Think Tank.

新泽西食品政策智库的存在是为了帮助引导公共政策朝着更可持续、更健康的食品系统发展，并为食品系统内的参与者提供建议. 这包括食品和餐饮行业与学术界的合作，以促进现在和未来的有效运营战略.

Smolen wrote:

Are Covid adaptations a necessity or novelty? 这只是一群新泽西餐馆所涉及的话题之一, 来自新泽西州各大学的学者和其他经验丰富的食品专业人士与食品智库一起讨论COVID-19大流行如何影响他们独特的业务，以及他们如何在未来更有效地工作.

Drs. Charles Feldman 和 民族史瓦兹 十大博彩推荐排名州立大学食品系统和管理专业的教授为食品和餐饮业创立了新泽西政策智库.

餐馆老板表示，有限的容量限制促使餐馆实施露天用餐, which has greatly benefited local NJ restaurants, but only those with the wherewithal to offer outdoor seating. This provided more revenue 和 the ability to stay open. 据阿斯伯里公园Bonney Read餐厅老板詹姆斯·艾弗里说, outdoor dining kept the revenue stream steady; overall sales were maintained at pre-p和emic levels, though expenses increased.

“It was a blessing,” Avery said. “我在家具上的投资很少，但它很棒，它绝对拯救了我们.”

When summer weather hit NJ, 户外座位改变了生意，使餐馆克服了以前客流量不足的问题.

“露天用餐拯救了我们，”普林斯顿特蕾莎咖啡馆(Teresa Cafe)的拉乌尔·莫莫(Raoul Momo)说. “It’s the only reason we are open…We were incredibly busy.”

尽管许多餐馆被迫采用户外座位, other restaurant owners were weary of its longevity, like Amy Russo of Toast City Diner in Montclair, NJ.

“It saved me…Do I think it’s ever going to become Barcelona? Not in New Jersey,” Russo noted. “它将继续在度假型城镇和美食城镇增长. It’s a good option but it will not take off.”

艾弗里同意Russo关于户外座位“没有长期保证”的说法, 但就他们目前的情况而言，这有助于他们在COVID-19大流行高峰期维持业务. Some restauranteurs’ revenues increased even more than expected. This is true for Leia Gaccione, owner of South 和 Pine in Morristown in NJ, 谁说，尽管面临大流行的挑战，她在2021年度过了最好的一年.

而户外用餐模式为许多场所带来了所需的收入, 这并没有抵消这些餐馆的其他与大流行有关的问题, which has caused the owners to alter their business plans. 餐馆老板们解决了利用幽灵厨房(隐藏的外卖业务)取代实体店的问题, 和, the proliferation of the takeout business. 但对于提供外卖和使用在线预订服务(如OpenTable或Grub Hub)的新机会，各方尚未达成共识.

“Where or not we are moving from hospitality, it’s not something that I am interested in,” Lauren Hirschberg of Turtle 和 Wolf in Montclair said. “如果我要做的就是生产食物，然后把它交给别人，那么这确实给了我任何骄傲和快乐. I like seeing people. I like meeting people.”

然而, 新人迪亚莫尼克·伦迪在赢得pitch prize比赛和赠款后，于2020年6月创办了她的第一家企业Soul 's Food, 是否能够快速执行幽灵厨房并适应不断变化的市场. Lundy利用Facebook营销等社交媒体平台为她的业务做广告. In just a month, Lundy had 100,000 hits on her website.

由于COVID-19，所有行业都在不断变化和适应, there are areas that affect all restauranteurs. The owners mentioned inflation, 租金上涨和劳工危机问题影响了他们的业务.

“房地产对成功至关重要……这很难，因为优质房地产成本很高,” Hirschberg said. “有些人无法理解……房东通常不愿意重新谈判.”

赫施伯格提到了由于房租高企以及由于疫情无法与房东谈判租赁而关闭的餐馆数量.

Others voiced concerns related to staffing shortages, lack of employment 和 increased minimum wage requirements.

“We did bite the bullet,” Momo said. “付给洗碗工每小时15美元的工资，有保障的服务……这很有效。. In our business, you compete for customers 和 employees.”

吸引个人申请工作并留在劳动力市场, 艾弗里给他的员工提供每小时17美元的工资，外加5到8小时的加班费. But it does not come without a cost. 这迫使餐馆老板重新评估劳动力的价格，并考虑向新颖的方向发展, more productive solutions. 减少劳动力可能会以预制食品的形式出现，比如土豆泥，或者使用外包的洗碗服务. 餐馆老板们正试图找出如何用更少的钱做更多的事. 他们认识到自己目前的处境，并正在努力适应新问题的出现.

一些餐馆老板回忆起员工对餐饮业工作更有激情的日子. Unfortunately, due to the current labor shortage, people are now “hiring anyone with a pulse,” as Avery reported, 而不是那些渴望向知名厨师学习的人. By offering a more competitive wage, Gaccione predicts, the owners are compensating by raising menu prices, which will not make customers happy.

例如, “People complain that your food is too expensive,” Gaccione stated, “晚餐, our guests need to be educated.”

尽管疫情给企业主和餐馆带来了巨大的挑战, 总的共识是餐饮行业需要改变. This is what the mission of the New Jersey Policy Think Tank. 未来的会议计划包括更多的餐馆老板, government representatives 和 food industry players.

会议以艾米•罗素(Amy Russo)的建议简洁地结束:“你必须做最有利于大局的事情，我们都是餐馆老板，我们都希望对自己最有利。!”