CONSULTANT ROUNDTABLE T
he Covid-19 pandemic has unquestionably changed the way foodservice and hospitality operates. But how – and indeed, when – will normal service resume for a sector
beset by multiple challenges? Convened in late October 2021, Professional members of FCSI The Americas met via Zoom to discuss the pressures of the present and, crucially, to forecast how the future will unfurl and what opportunities it might even have to off er.
Has your project work recovered since the hospitality sector reopened? AK: Since the pandemic we have been living in abnormal times. People are learning how to adjust to a new normal and what that means. Since March 2021, 90% of our projects have resumed after being put on hold during the pandemic. The timeline for projects is still the same as if the pandemic never happened, which is interesting, but not surprising. SC: For us, K-12 projects, which fall under the Department of Education, are proceeding as normal, even though the operators are making a major eff ort to prepare meals for students to take home. Healthcare projects were put on hold as hospitals were dealing with Covid patients, but they were the fi rst to resume. Casinos have been interesting. They're getting the customers they want on the casino fl oor, but food volumes are down. B&I [business and industry] corporate projects seem to be the most uncertain. However, there are still a few large projects
happening in the corporate sector right now. But, everybody is struggling with labor shortages and supply chain issues. We're not back to normal from the foundations of pre- pandemic. We are having to be adaptable, basing menus on what we can get. KS: Pre-pandemic, we were probably operating at 1,000 miles per hour, and about three weeks into it, we were working at six miles per hour in terms of volume. We jammed on the brakes. But then, in the heat of the pandemic, we were very busy working with hotels, from select service such as Element Hotels and Aloft Hotels, to full-blown resorts with 20 F&B venues. Casino work was interesting, because they were trying to rethink how to bring life to the city and feed people. We have a plan to transform several buff ets into a more food hall type operation and retail-like foodservice. Healthcare also remained a strong segment for us. Although the healthcare industry was overwhelmed by the pandemic, we had several clients come to us who were looking at renovating. When the economy tanked in 2008-9, the credit markets were closed; there was no lending or borrowing. The diff erence today is that the lending community was doing everything they could [to support clients]. There was a huge demand by developers that aligned perfectly with lenders, so a lot of large projects could come to life. JS: There has been a lot of hurry up and wait. The Delta variant threw a real curveball too. A lot of reopening plans were made for early
“Pre-pandemic, we were probably operating at 1,000 miles per hour, and about three weeks into it, we were working at six miles per hour”
Ken Schwartz FCSI, president, SSA Inc
PARTICIPANTS: (Clockwise from top right) Steve Carlson FCSI, Rippe Associates (SC) Ken Schwartz FCSI, SSA, Inc. (KS) Laura Lentz FCSI, Culinary Advisors, LLC (LL) Joseph Schumaker FCSI, FoodSpace (JS) Anja Kuechenmeister FCSI, Camacho (AK) Chair: Michael Jones, Foodservice Consultant
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THE AMERICAS
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