The coronavirus took everyone by surprise, but perhaps the hardest hit were the restaurant and tourism industries. The sector's operating environment changed completely, practically overnight. In order to stay in business, the service concept had to be completely rethought and new operating models had to be created.
We asked restaurant entrepreneurs in Järvenpää to tell us how they have coped with this extraordinary period and what solutions they have come up with to respond to this completely unexpected change.
The speed of change challenged businesses
Each entrepreneur stressed the need to react very quickly when the restaurants closed. The main business of the entrepreneurs has been almost non-existent throughout the corona period and had to be replaced by takeaway and home delivery concepts. Suddenly, they had to adapt to the new - orders were cancelled, staff had to be laid off, customers disappeared and everything that was certain became uncertain. This freed up some time, but it also took a huge amount of resources to create new solutions. Many also said they had to reorganise their financing, for example through Business Finland and banks.
Slowly, people began to adapt to the new situation. The whole production had to be planned on the basis of a pick-up or food delivery concept. Own customer premises had to be renovated to enable safe takeaway sales. Surprisingly quickly, the approach became part of everyday life. Initially, however, some customers had found it challenging to understand that the culture had changed due to circumstances.
The example of the Huvila restaurant is a good illustration of adapting to new circumstances. The restaurant's sales were largely shifted online and the launch of HuvilaDel was a success. Many of the entrepreneurs felt that not all customers have adopted the new ways of working. Of course, the exceptional period has also brought in completely new customers.
For all operators, social media and company websites have clearly been the most used advertising channels. Festa Zannoni has also relied on bush radio in addition to the web. Cooper's Corner has also advertised directly to the elderly through the letterbox.
"The new normal"
Businesses believe that some of the new policies and solutions introduced during the derogation will be permanent, such as TakeAway sales and weekend food bags. At the same time, the waste canteen app was also introduced in many locations and will remain part of the range of services. The number of home deliveries is also expected to increase in Järvenpää in the future. This service will be offered as long as there is demand for it.
What they admire is the constant search for more efficiencies in the organisation, the desire to innovate and challenge themselves and their own operations. Every entrepreneur who responded to the survey said that they had worked within their own resources and capabilities.
All in all, we survived this spring and now we can say that "change is an opportunity"! Yet everyone says they are already looking forward to June, when activities can return to normal - more or less.
Thank you for your responses:
Cooper's Corner, Festa Zannoni, Herkkupaja, Café Sweet, Cake House Gilan, Louhela Banquet and Catering Services and Restaurant Huvila.