​Restaurant relief

For many restaurant operators around the U.S., recent weeks have been a stressful blur of trying to keep business open, keeping themselves and their staff safe and healthy, and easing the fears of customers who have been receiving mixed messages about whether or not they should visit restaurants. It’s a time when restaurants need support in many forms – and an important time to lean on your network, at both national and local levels. Consider supporting the National Restaurant Association’s efforts, as well as grassroots efforts underway through Change.org to urge Congress to pass a plan that helps restaurants recover. Food + Tech Connect is assembling a growing list of resources that restaurants can turn to, and Food & Wine has assembled resources too. Also look within your community and join forces with other foodservice organizations to collectively benefit from scale. For example, the Restaurant Response Program in New York is bringing together 30 restaurants in the city, giving them a sum of $40,000 to use their existing food supply and operate as a pick-up/delivery-only food distribution center for a short term. In San Francisco, Instagram cofounder Mike Krieger launched SaveOurFaves, a directory of local restaurants selling gift certificates to help them offset lost income due to COVID-19. In other cities, restaurant operators are forming online groups where they can share each other’s business needs and collaboratively approach the community and legislators for support from a single point of contact. At Team Four/Value Four, we have created a working group to develop customer-centric strategies and services to help your business recover and build sales momentum. We are committed to helping our customers weather the current challenges and continue to support you as life begins to return to normal – and it will.