REWORKING THE MENU
As workers return in pandemic’s wake, cafeterias look at ways to adapt services
The lunch options are numerous for Connecticut office workers, whether at delis around the corner or in corporate cafeterias like those overseen nationally by Joe Ganci, president of corporate services for Sodexo’s North America operations.
In many of its facilities, the foodservices giant offers a literal smorgasbord of daily fare — hot lunch or salad choices — that people can customize in ways that many restaurants do not duplicate. The challenge for Ganci and others like him going forward is to alter those features to reflect new realities while making sure variety and flexibility don’t leave the menu for the noontime office gourmand.
In releasing its “road map” for reopening Connecticut establishments disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic, a committee convened by Gov. Ned Lamont omitted any reference to cafeterias — a major hub of the school and working day that have considerations distinct from their restaurant cousins.
Vendors such as Sodexo have been left largely to their own devices to figure out new operating models.
Even the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention has provided little more than cursory guidance. Industry leaders have been consumed during the shutdown with devising strategies for reopening.
“You can expect self- serve operations will probably be shuttered in the beginning and maybe for the longer term, and you’ll see more ‘ grab- and- go’ opportunities,” said John Zillmer, CEO of Philadelphiabased Aramark, which, along with Paris- based Sodexo and Compass Group, based in the United Kingdom, form the industry’s big three providers.
“We’ll facilitate customer orders, both from a mobile application perspective,” Zillmer said. “And situations may exist where customers are slotted into service times and periods to maintain social distancing and service flexibility.”
The industry is adopting restaurant theories for deep cleaning, screening employees and the layout
U. S. consumer spending plunged by a record- shattering 13.6 percent in April as the viral pandemic shuttered businesses, forced millions of layoffs and sent the economy into a deep recession.
Last month’s spending decline was far worse than the revised 6.9 percent drop in March, which itself had set a record for the steepest one- month fall in records dating to 1959. Friday’s Commerce Department figures reinforced evidence that the economy is gripped by the worst downturn in decades, with consumers unable or too anxious to spend much.
Even with employers cutting millions of jobs during the month, personal incomes soared 10.5 percent in April, reflecting billions of dollars in support through government
Jahana Hayes, D- Conn., among 85 co- sponsors. The legislation now moves to the U. S. Senate for final consideration before heading to the White House.
“The ... CARES Act was negotiated to get help out the door fast, and now that PPP loans have been law for several months it’s clear where we need to improve,” Courtney said in a Thursday press release from his office. “Employers need more flexibility so that PPP loans can be the widely applicable funding source they were intended to be — not ( a) ... potentially costly loan for small employers.”
In addition to the extended deadline, the House bill would reduce the amount of funding that businesses must devote to payrolls to 60 percent of loan funds received from the prior threshold of 75 percent.