“In non-Covid-19 scenarios, our delivery numbers and to-go numbers are remarkably consistent,” he said. “We started to run those numbers and the business would have been, in short order, operating at a considerable loss.”
Initial demand was high. On the first night, he said, they did four times the amount of sales they expected. “We were sold out by 8 p.m.,” he said. The company decided to match orders with gift cards in the same amount in an effort to encourage customers to return to the dining rooms when it’s safe.
Scott Landers formerly led New York-based Dig’s delivery efforts now works as a consultant on off-premise strategies. His number-one piece of advice to a business navigating an operational shift: leverage your core asset. It’s the only way a brand new business strategy will work long term. Instead, Johnson launched the Naked Farmer’s Market, leveraging the farmer supply chain that he had spent the last eight months building. Customers can order a box of fresh vegetables delivered to their homes via Uber Eats, and soon, the restaurant’s own website.