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Restaurants were some of the first institutions to employ social distancing, QR codes, and takeout and delivery options. Here’s how they did it.
Read More: The Top 7 Ways the Pandemic Changed Colorado (Maybe Forever)
1. Social Distancing
When Colorado restaurants were allowed to reopen on May 27, 2020, they had to limit indoor dining capacity to 50 percent, space tables at least six feet apart, keep their buffets closed, leave windows open, limit parties to eight or fewer, and provide contactless payment whenever possible, among other requirements. Many restaurateurs said the capacity restrictions made reopening nearly impossible.
The Pivot: After some cities loosened regulations, restaurant owners expanded their outdoor seating areas into parking lots, onto sidewalks, and even into adjacent streets. In summer 2020, restaurants made more than one-third of their revenues from expanded patio seating. In winter 2020-’21, restaurants added heaters and even erected single-party structures like igloos and greenhouses to maintain capacity.
Staying Power: Denver ultimately made its temporary outdoor expansions program permanent, allowing restaurants to apply for permits to maintain alfresco spaces.
2. QR Codes
Initial guidance from the state required restaurants to employ single-use menus to avoid spreading the virus from customer to customer. Printing that many paper menus was expensive, not to mention wasteful.
The Pivot: Enter QR codes. Although the two-dimensional matrices had been around since the early ’90s and gained some popularity with the rise of the smartphone in the early 2010s, the pandemic gave them new life. Restaurants could upload their menus and diners could use their personal devices to access them, creating a contactless situation.
Staying Power: Although there has been some customer backlash to the proliferation of QR codes, restaurants and bars continue to use them not only because of the cost savings, but also because of convenience. “It’s easy to update your menu every day,” says Sonia Riggs, president and CEO of the Colorado Restaurant Association.
3. Takeout/Delivery
In an effort to keep their businesses running and maintain at least some staff, eateries figured out ways to box up their bites. But revenues were meager, and margins were even slimmer than normal, especially if a restaurant had to use a pricey delivery app—like Grubhub or Uber Eats—to drop food on diners’ doorsteps.
The Pivot: Because Governor Jared Polis temporarily suspended regulations that forbade the sale of to-go alcohol by executive order on March 20, 2020, many restaurants leaned into alcohol sales, which have better margins than food sales. The Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant, for example, created special to-go menus for their famed margaritas, and Ace Eat Serve made boozy 750-milliliter bottled cocktails that served about eight people.
Staying Power: On May 10, 2024, Polis signed Senate Bill 24-020, which permitted to-go and delivery alcohol sales permanently in Colorado.
