QSR March 2023

ON T H E GO

in mindset for foodservice leaders and innova tors. Chefs began experimenting in smaller spaces and on tighter budgets, leading to the rise of chef driven food trucks and fast casuals. Years later, the pandemic precipitated another shift of sorts, as operators hunkered down on off-premises programs. For elevated, sit-down concepts, like Chef & the Farmer, the process was more involved and the outcome less certain. “When the pandemic hit and we had to close for two weeks, I wondered if we’d be able to reopen because we didn’t have enough savings to sustain us,” Howard says. “I realized that a smart refrig erator or freezer serving restaurant-quality food could be a way forward.” Even before COVID pounded the hospital ity sector, Howard noticed an unsettling trend: talented and valued cooks were leaving the res taurant because they wanted daytime shifts and

more time with their families. “I started thinking about how the restaurant model is broken. It is such a hard business. It is difficult to make money,” she says. While not a panacea, Viv’s Fridge does offer a solution in terms of work-life balance. Cooks who want consistent, daytime shifts can focus on preparing the fresh-made meals featured in the fridges. As the concept’s footprint grows, job opportunities will scale in tandem. Chef & the Farmer has been under renovations since last summer and when it reopens, staff will have more f lexibility than ever. “My hope when I reopen this summer is to only be open Thursday to Sunday so that the kitchen staff work fewer nights and have set days off. For those who don’t want to work at night, they can get more day-time hours by cooking for Viv’s Fridge,” she says. Howard first came into the spotlight a decade ago through the PBS documentary-style series, “A Chef ’s Life,” which she co-created and starred in alongside husband and business partner Ben Knight. The show, which ran for f ive seasons, earned a Peabody Award for what the board of jurors called “its refreshingly unsensational depic tion of life and work in a modern restaurant.” Since, Howard has written two cookbooks and opened three more brick-and-mortar restaurants in Wilmington, North Carolina, and Charleston, South Carolina. Like many proprietors, she didn’t go through 2020 unscathed. According to reporting from The New Bern Sun Journal, Chef & the Farmer had to lay off about 50 employees when COVID struck, while Howard’s other Kinston concept, Boiler Room, closed permanently. Despite these setbacks, she remains com mitted to full-service, dine-in experiences, as evidenced by the fact Lenoir, her second restau rant in Charleston, opened just months after the Boiler Room shuttered. Now, Viv’s Fridge rep resents an opportunity to not only expand her market reach but also ensure a more shored-up business model as her empire continues to expand. “It’s a low-cost way to make better use of the investments we already made in our kitchen and our staf f. It allows you to earn revenue without expanding your footprint and without really taking on much overhead,” she says. “By diversifying the income streams, the restaurant is better able to weather the next pandemic or another emergency.” 

HOWARD’S CULINARY TOUCH CARRIES THROUGH FORMATS. 

“When the pandemic hit and we had to

close for two weeks, I wondered if we’d be able to reopen because we didn’t have enough savings to sustain us. I realized that a smart refrigerator or freezer serving restaurant-quality

food could be a way forward.”

BAXTER MILLER (4)

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INDUSTRY-WIDE ISSUE

MARCH 2023