Delta driving away diners
Survey finds more turning to takeout, delivery amid surge
The delta variant, the highly contagious strain of COVID-19 that is surging nationwide, has eroded consumer confidence in dining out. Six in 10 adults have changed their restaurant-going habits as a result of the infection spike, according to a study released Tuesday by the National Restaurant Association.
The findings revealed that 19% of adults have given up going to restaurants in recent weeks, while 9% of adults canceled plans to go out to a restaurant.
In addition, 37% of adults said they ordered takeout or delivery instead of going to a restaurant, and 19% of those who did go to a restaurant chose to sit outdoors, where transmission isn’t as likely.
Scott Dolch, executive director of Connecticut Restaurant Association, used the release of the study to push for a replenishment of the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, which left almost two-thirds of financially struggling restaurants in the cold.
“There are thousands of Connecticut small business owners stuck in limbo waiting to find out if Congress will act to provide the stability they need to make it through this new pandemic threat and into the future,” Dolch said. “The rise of coronavirus variants like delta threaten to push these restaurants closer to permanently closing their doors.”
During the application period for Restaurant Revitalization Fund grants, 3,369 Connecticut restaurants applied for a total of $790,818,094. A total of 1,303 received funding, totaling $301,164,069.
Nationwide, 278,304 restaurants applied for a total of $72,233,280,031, and 101,004 were granted a total of
$28,574,979,472, according to the Small Business Administration, which administered the funding. The fund was established with $28.6 billion.
Dolch said that 600 restaurants in the state closed permanently as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. He said he is afraid if RRF funding replenishment doesn’t come soon, “we’ll have more closures in the next six months than we ever had during COVID.
“It could be 1,000 potential businesses,” Dolch said. “The variant scares me to death.”
Bipartisan legislation is working its way through Congress to replenish the fund and to get grants to the restaurants left behind by the round of funding.
Bryce Hardy, owner of The Charles in Wethersfield, said he has seen an increase in people wanting to sit outdoors. “Before, people wanted to be inside in the air conditioning. Now they’re willing to forgo that to eat outside,” he said.
KC Ward, owner of Rooster Company in Newington and Flora in West Hartford, said on-site sales have gone down significantly in both restaurants in the last few weeks, but “Doordash and Grubhub, those sales have certainly gone up.”
The National Restaurant Association survey, conducted between Aug. 13 and 15, polled 1,000 adults ages 18 and older. According to the survey, 41% of adults didn’t change their restaurant-going habits. This demographic was dominated by baby boomers and Republicans.
In the polls, mask mandates received a split vote. The study found that 32% of adults said they would be less likely to go to a restaurant if masks were mandated indoors. This percentage was dominated by Republicans and Gen Xers.
Conversely, 25% of respondents, a sampling dominated by Gen Z adults and Democrats, said mask mandates would make them more likely to dine in. In the middle, 43% said mask mandates would have no effect on their plans to go out.
Ward said leaving the mask mandate up to individual towns — which Gov. Ned Lamont has done — puts restaurateurs in a tough spot. He said his restaurants cater to different demographics. West Hartford has a mask mandate, Newington does not.
“In Flora, the customers … I know they feel better wearing a mask and when they see us wearing a mask. I’m quick to say, it’s the Town of West Hartford, we’re going to all wear the masks. We are following the town’s guidance,” he said. “In Newington, it would have been dangerous if the town left this up to me. I could disenfranchise some of my regulars. I cannot afford to lose even that one customer at a time like this.”
The demographic divide was echoed in reactions to vaccination requirements to enter restaurants. Democrats and Gen Z adults dominated the 33% of respondents who said a vaccine requirement would make them more likely to dine out. The 32% of respondents who said vaccine requirements would be a turn off to dining out were dominated by Republicans, independents and Gen Xers.
In the middle, 35% said a vaccine requirement would have no impact on their dining out decisions.
Sean Kennedy, executive vice president of Public Affairs for National Restaurant Association, called the figures a “dangerous trend” in an industry that requires a “full house” every evening to make a profit.
“These changes indicate declining consumer confidence that will make it more difficult for most restaurant owners to maintain their delicate financial stability,” Kennedy said in a news release.
Dolch said that public perception of the restaurant industry — that the joints are jumping compared to the previous months — don’t reflect the reality of the industry.
“The national average is a 4 to 6 percent profit margin. It’s not this huge profitable industry. Everything affects revenue. The labor costs have gone up because of the worker shortage. You have to pay more to keep them or to attract them. Food and supply costs have gone up 30 to 35 percent,” he said.
“The only way to turn a profit is if you have more people coming in. But if you don’t have staff, you don’t have the hours you used to have, you don’t have the tables filled, you can’t open every day of the week. You can’t generate that revenue,” Dolch added.