Hospitality is an industry that’s accustomed to financial challenges, even in the best of times, profits are tight and it’s hard to make a dollar, but with the current COVID-19 restrictions, the fight to keep the hospitality industry alive is stronger than ever.

There have been many great examples of food and beverage establishments that have pivoted to keep caring for their communities and to keep their businesses running.

From restaurants turning into marketplaces, to pubs converting to convenience stores, and gin distillers becoming hand sanitiser producers, the innovation is impressive.

But while some of these initiatives are working well for some venues, I’m concerned about the longevity of these solutions.

Mangan (right): "My gut feeling is that once the restrictions have been lifted and we’re free to return to our favourite cafes, bars and restaurants, it’s going to be a slow start back.

As much as people may be sick of sitting at home and cooking all of their own meals, it may take some time for diners to regain the confidence to eat out again."

Although I don’t have a crystal ball, my predictions for when the current restrictions are lifted are that pubs and cafes will be the first venues to see a return in patronage because their casual settings generally mean there’s more space for diners to spread out and maintain a distance.

But I think middle to fine dining may struggle in comparison, especially because it may take time to see a return of big groups and entertaining at restaurants.

My advice for restaurateurs right now is to preserve cash in order to reopen and sustain the business for a longer and quieter period. I think once we’ve got the green light to reopen, we’ll need to build back up to our usual operations.

That could mean remaining conscious of extra hygiene and distancing practices and being cautious with costs by coming up with smarter ways to create a menu or offering a smaller variety of dishes.

But I think it’s also important to think about how we’re going to create public awareness and promote eating out once it’s safe to do so. I’ve formed a group of business leaders around Australia and we’re trying to come up with a plan for how to kickstart the hospitality industry once the restrictions are lifted. Hopefully, we’ll have a couple of weeks of notice, but we’ll have to act pretty quickly to start some sort of campaign and promotion around food and wine.

Another initiative this group is working on is that we’re talking to the government about abolishing Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT). Changes to FBT in 2016 saw a substantial reduction to meal entertainment and entertainment facility leasing expense benefits, which meant that restaurants saw a large decrease in corporate workers entertaining clients with business lunches.

Our belief is that scrapping FBT, to encourage greater corporate client entertaining, would be a great help in bringing the restaurant industry back.

However, regardless of how much encouragement we create to try and get diners back at venues, restaurateurs need to take this time to prepare for how they are going to approach reopening post-COVID-19. At the end of the day, it’s not about which restaurant wins the race, but how long you can run for.

About Luke Mangan (OAM)
Luke Mangan is a leading Australian restaurateur and chef, whose influence on the food and wine industry can be found in the air on Virgin Australia Business Class, the carriages of the Eastern Oriental Express, and at sea, on board five P&O Cruise ships.

Luke’s Australian restaurants range from fine dining to more casual fare and are renowned for his unexpected creations, which highlight his French culinary training and Asian influences, paired with fresh, clean flavours.

For 13 years, Luke owned and operated restaurants in Japan, Singapore and Indonesia under the Salt brand. He sold his remaining share in the business in 2018 to focus on his Australian restaurants and new ‘Luke’s’ ventures, including Luke’s Kitchen, Luke’s Steakhouse and Luke’s Burger Bar to name a few.

He has written five best-selling cookbooks and an autobiography ‘The Making of a Chef’, has his own line of gourmet products and makes regular TV appearances.

www.lukemangan.com