FSR March 2023

F U T U R E O F QU I C K S E R V I C E

For Schulman, a cofounder of the Mediterra nean chain, whose roots owe to full service, the 2015 idea a diner might walk in and compete with CAVA’s digital business was a prophetic concern. “There’s nothing more frustrating than being in our assembly line format and waiting for your order to be built and having a teammember build a digital order in front of you and you have to wait. That’s not what we wanted,” Schulman says. CAVA, like Chipotle and others, began install ing dedicated makelines for digital production. While this fix was a straightforward one—expand capacity for a growing channel—it bespoke a vision

drive-thru turned in the worst year-over-year per formance at 10.2 percent in November, lower than the year-ago period. In fact, month-over-month drive-thru trends have held stable since May 2022. Meanwhile, dine-in climbed 29.6 percent in the month after growing 37.1 percent in Octo ber. Takeout was 20.6 percent higher and delivery 11.5 percent, although that, too, has declined ver sus previous months. This illuminates what could prove a lasting view of post-COVID foodservice: Higher drive thru usage than 2019, but with an arrow that’s leveled out; sustained preference and interest in off-premises streams; yet with clear evidence one of 2020’s doomsday predictions turned out to be a prisoner-of-the-moment reaction. “We always felt the demise of the dining room was greatly exaggerated,” Schulman says. “It wasn’t an either or; it was an ‘and.’” THE FUTURE IS CHOICE All of CAVA’s channels have grown “significantly” over 2019, Schulman says. As a percentage, digi tal is off its peak, but the dollars have grown—a common reality these days. The mix of digital slid as in-restaurant business rebounded. At CAVA, roughly 63 percent of its sales currently are dine-in. “I think what we all learned through the pan demic was we are social beings. We’re humans,” Schulman says. “We love connection. We long for that connection.” Socialization has been the heartbeat of hos pitality for as long as its existed. What’s changed now are the terms. Making food available where and when a guest wants has become the table stakes of convenience. And that doesn’t exclude the dining room. CAVA opened 83 locations in 2022 (includ ing conversions of Zoës Kitchen venues) in seven new states and 10 fresh markets. It also debuted seven digital drive-thru pick up lanes to bring its total to 17. Those drive-thrus began hitting the f ield in 2019 as a way for suburban customers to gain greater access to the brand. Schulman, as a father of three, understood the limitations of guests who didn’t—or couldn’t (car seats)—get out of their vehi cles to pick up food. The locations boast dedicated second digital makelines for the pickup window as well as in-restaurant serving lines for dine-in customers. “Guests love the optionality of both those channels,” Schulman says, “depending on

 BRETT SCHULMAN

 ABOUT 63 PERCENT OF CAVA’S SALES TODAY ARE DINE-IN.

of quick service that COVID-19 poured lighter f luid on. As regulations and safety precautions shuttered lobbies nationwide, restaurants began plotting the future of the dining room. When the front door reopened, would customers return? And if they did, what would they want? How would it mesh with digital behaviors accelerated by the pandemic? According to the National Restaurant Associ ation, nearly three years removed fromCOVID’s onset, 16 percent fewer people are dining on-prem ises than before. Yet the Association claims the gap has been entirely covered by off-premises business. Delivery is 5 percent higher than 2019 and car ryout 3 percent lower. Drive-thru, however, sits 13 percent above pre-COVID marks and today accounts for 39 percent of all restaurant traffic, per an article in The Washington Post. There’s little debate the pandemic trailed a disrupted and changed sector in its wake. But there is room to ask whether it was the asteroid some predicted. Data from Revenue Manage ment Solutions showed, among revenue channels,

CAVA (2), INTERIOR: TIM ROBISON

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INDUSTRY-WIDE ISSUE

MARCH 2023

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