The impact of COVID-19 on Canadian restaurant operations and the likelihood of pivoting off-dining options post-COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic uncovered the weaknesses in the global food system, disrupting food production, processing, distribution, and consumer behaviors. The study seeks to examine the state of recovery in the restaurant operations, changes in supplier relationships, and the likelihood of pivoting off...

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Main Authors: Gumataw Kifle Abebe, Sylvain Charlebois, Janet Music
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2023-09-01
Series:Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590198223001641
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author Gumataw Kifle Abebe
Sylvain Charlebois
Janet Music
author_facet Gumataw Kifle Abebe
Sylvain Charlebois
Janet Music
author_sort Gumataw Kifle Abebe
collection DOAJ
description The COVID-19 pandemic uncovered the weaknesses in the global food system, disrupting food production, processing, distribution, and consumer behaviors. The study seeks to examine the state of recovery in the restaurant operations, changes in supplier relationships, and the likelihood of pivoting off-premise dining options post-COVID-19. Based on primary data from 181 restaurants in Canada, the findings revealed that takeout was the most widely used off-premise dining option by the restaurants in the study before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The most significant change during the pandemic occurred in the use of curbside pickup and delivery through third-party aggregators. The use of the drive-thru option remained at the pre-pandemic. The pandemic significantly impacted restaurants' sales and traffic levels and permanently closed some restaurant units. As of September 2021, two-thirds of the restaurants reported having recovered more than 50% of full capacity. The nature of supplier relationships during COVID-19 and pre-pandemic firm characteristics (number of restaurant units, business form, and restaurant category) influenced the likelihood of pivoting one or more off-premise dining options post-pandemic. By controlling the effect of pre-pandemic firm characteristics, the study provides empirical evidence on the state of recovery in restaurant operations and the likelihood of pivoting off-premise dining options post-COVID-19.
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spelling doaj.art-1cd194e1cd1b49a89aa898455ca166712023-09-24T05:16:51ZengElsevierTransportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives2590-19822023-09-0121100917The impact of COVID-19 on Canadian restaurant operations and the likelihood of pivoting off-dining options post-COVID-19Gumataw Kifle Abebe0Sylvain Charlebois1Janet Music2Faculty of Agriculture, Dalhousie University, Truro, NS B2N 5E3, Canada; Corresponding author.Agri-Food Analytics Lab, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, CanadaAgri-Food Analytics Lab, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, CanadaThe COVID-19 pandemic uncovered the weaknesses in the global food system, disrupting food production, processing, distribution, and consumer behaviors. The study seeks to examine the state of recovery in the restaurant operations, changes in supplier relationships, and the likelihood of pivoting off-premise dining options post-COVID-19. Based on primary data from 181 restaurants in Canada, the findings revealed that takeout was the most widely used off-premise dining option by the restaurants in the study before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The most significant change during the pandemic occurred in the use of curbside pickup and delivery through third-party aggregators. The use of the drive-thru option remained at the pre-pandemic. The pandemic significantly impacted restaurants' sales and traffic levels and permanently closed some restaurant units. As of September 2021, two-thirds of the restaurants reported having recovered more than 50% of full capacity. The nature of supplier relationships during COVID-19 and pre-pandemic firm characteristics (number of restaurant units, business form, and restaurant category) influenced the likelihood of pivoting one or more off-premise dining options post-pandemic. By controlling the effect of pre-pandemic firm characteristics, the study provides empirical evidence on the state of recovery in restaurant operations and the likelihood of pivoting off-premise dining options post-COVID-19.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590198223001641Off-premise diningRestaurant operationsRestaurant-supplier relationshipCOVID-19
spellingShingle Gumataw Kifle Abebe
Sylvain Charlebois
Janet Music
The impact of COVID-19 on Canadian restaurant operations and the likelihood of pivoting off-dining options post-COVID-19
Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives
Off-premise dining
Restaurant operations
Restaurant-supplier relationship
COVID-19
title The impact of COVID-19 on Canadian restaurant operations and the likelihood of pivoting off-dining options post-COVID-19
title_full The impact of COVID-19 on Canadian restaurant operations and the likelihood of pivoting off-dining options post-COVID-19
title_fullStr The impact of COVID-19 on Canadian restaurant operations and the likelihood of pivoting off-dining options post-COVID-19
title_full_unstemmed The impact of COVID-19 on Canadian restaurant operations and the likelihood of pivoting off-dining options post-COVID-19
title_short The impact of COVID-19 on Canadian restaurant operations and the likelihood of pivoting off-dining options post-COVID-19
title_sort impact of covid 19 on canadian restaurant operations and the likelihood of pivoting off dining options post covid 19
topic Off-premise dining
Restaurant operations
Restaurant-supplier relationship
COVID-19
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590198223001641
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