Southern Inn Expands Take-Out Offerings to Lift Sales and Adapt to Pandemic Restrictions

For the owners of the Southern Inn Restaurant in Lexington, VA, adapting to the "new normal" brought about by Covid-19 meant renewed effort to keep and find quality employees, more muscle behind their to-go program -- and some much-needed expertise from RestaurantOwner.com.

"Our sales including catering were down about 32%," recalls George Huger. Grappling with the complications caused by the pandemic called for him and his wife, Sue Ann, to be resourceful. "We have tried almost everything. We are selling prepared foods at a local market. We have done holiday packages, prepped and ready to eat. We have done virtual wine tastings. We do family meals and meal kits."

The results showed that the effort paid off, he continues. "We did fairly well when we had outdoor dining. We have been pretty slow since mid-November, but our holiday packages sold very well."

In mid-2019, the Hugers had ditched their old Micros POS and switched to Toast. "Our new system includes online sale capabilities. In the fourth quarter of 2019, we re-evaluated our entire to-go program - containers, operational setup, everything - and started pushing our carry-out options. We did not know how important these changes would be. We started to make these changes because we felt there was carry-out business that we were not addressing. We saw carry-out growing nationwide and our business wasn't increasing."

Since the couple was already trying to address to-go and thinking about what they needed to do in order to create a great carry-out experience, they were able to adapt to Covid restrictions very quickly.

Commitment

Indeed, the owners have taken the pandemic very seriously, and want to make sure that their patrons and staff know that. Their website highlights what they consider to be their commitment to both their guests and employees:

"We value the health and safety of our staff and community. As we continue to monitor the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) situation, we wanted to share the steps we're taking to minimize risk and keep our restaurants safe and clean.

• We will designate a Sanitation and Health Manager for every shift.
• We will educate our staff on personal hygiene and sanitation.
• We will continue to clean and sanitize frequently.
• We will require all employees to pass a health checkup every day. We will send anyone with a fever or symptoms home and require them to have a normal temperature for 24 hours before they return.
• We will rearrange our seating to comply with social distancing guidelines.
• We will offer hand sanitizer for all employees and guests.
• We will continue to educate ourselves and stay up to date on best practices and new issues to be aware of.

The Hugers also ask for a promise in return: "Respect the restaurant's sanitation and hygiene standards and processes posted within the restaurant. Use our online ordering and curbside service if you have been exposed to Covid-19 or have symptoms of Covid-19 or other illnesses."

'Navigate This Nightmare'

"Jim (Laube, RestaurantOwner.com's founder and CEO) and Joe (Erickson, COO) helped us navigate this nightmare in almost every way possible," says Huger. "The webinars and RO's materials have helped us to understand so many of the challenges we have faced."

His plans for 2021 are to continue to find ways to address the greater demand for carry-out and other changes in his guests' dining habits. "We have to continue to adapt and find efficient, cost-effective ways to take advantage of our brand and name recognition."

What the Hugers consider their greatest challenge for the months ahead is to recruit, hire, and onboard the best local talent for their establishment. "We lost some great people over the course of the year. We have to hire great people who want to help us provide a great customer experience in order to grow."