A View From The Top

Cheba Hut bracing for winter during the pandemic

Cheba Hut’s Chief Relationship Officer Seth Larsen shares insight on how his brand has amended its restaurants to prolong outdoor dining as well as the ways franchisees are solving other pandemic-related issues.

September 28, 2020

By Seth Larsen, chief relationship officer, Cheba Hut

COVID-19 has shaken up the traditional dining experience since March. The restaurant industry has been forced to adapt to customers' changing needs as the world continues to navigate its way back to any semblance of normal.

Fortunately, during the summer months restaurants have been able to open their patios and find alternative solutions that support the dine-in experience while adhering to social distancing guidelines. However, for many restaurants, outdoor dining options will be limited once the weather starts to cool down. For franchise restaurants specifically, this means leadership must continue to think outside the box to find the best way to support franchisees.

Amid all of these changing rules and regulations, Cheba Hut is supporting its franchisees by remaining realistically optimistic. To combat the cold, we've installed air purifiers in every store's HVAC system to help reduce the spread of the virus and at stores where there is patio seating we've added tables to accommodate more customers. And in an effort to prolong the life of outdoor dining, heat lamps have been added to the patio space.

Additionally, in our communication with franchisees, we encourage them to brainstorm creative solutions that will help them continue to offer a safe and comfortable dining experience to their customers. For example, one franchisee in New Mexico set up a semi-permanent outdoor tent.

After he saw success come from the idea, he was able to share it with Cheba Hut's network of franchisees as a viable alternative that's continuing to boost business. It's ideas like these that keep the business changing and growing. We've come to learn that we have to continue to think about ways to innovate the industry and foster a supportive sense of community — especially for franchisees.

In some areas, even restaurants that implement these creative solutions may not be able to continue providing amended outdoor dining options once the temperature drops, especially in the Midwest and parts of the East Coast. If that's the case, continuing to make it easy for customers to dine with pick-up and delivery options is key. In response to the pandemic, we updated our app to be more efficient and better suited to the needs of our customers. Consequently, online ordering has increased from 2% to 20% since the app's launch.

Navigating the laws
What's been most difficult about this process is the navigation of different laws in each state to problem-solve for our franchisees. For restaurants in California, patrons are required to give their name when they enter the restaurant and then have their temperature checked. In Colorado, there have been discussions about reintroducing bar seating indoors, as long as it's socially distant. We are helping our franchisees navigate through their state-specific challenges.

At the end of the day, what's most important to keep in mind is customer confidence. Pre-pandemic, cleaning and HVAC maintenance weren't part of the customer-facing experience — customers assumed their favorite, trusted restaurants were doing their part to keep their space clean. Now, cleanliness is a conscious part of the dining experience for customers — practices have been updated, plexiglass dividers have been installed and proper PPE is worn by all employees. We want our employees and customers to feel to like their well-being is protected so they can have the most comfortable experience possible.

Cheba Hut is doing what we can with the hand we've been dealt, and every day is a new opportunity to find creative solutions to keep our customers happy and make our franchisees feel supported. The restaurant industry and its members have proven themselves resilient throughout the pandemic and as we lean into winter there's little doubt that that will change.

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