Lazy Betty is Just One of Many Struggling Restaurants
As restaurants around the world struggle from lower revenue combined with rising cost and inflation, JUICER is now working with a select group to introduce dynamic pricing for restaurants. This is one of the most powerful levers that restaurants can pull today to offset rising cost.
This photo of the Lazy Betty team was published in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on October 17, 2018 with the headline "See renderings for Lazy Betty, to open early next year in Candler Park". The look of pride and excitement is a sharp contrast to what followed a little more than one year later, when Ron Hsu (pictured second from the right), Chef Owner of Lazy Betty in Atlanta would have to send his staff home with the remaining food in the refrigerator.
On December 29, 2021, The New York Times published this opinion article written by Ron Hsu in which he describes the emotional moments when he had to close the doors of his newly opened restaurant on March 11, 2020, which he had named after his late mother. His article does an excellent job of explaining how restaurants all over the world are dealing with having to pay for new supplies related to Covid safety, investing in more outdoor seating areas, and all the while serving a much lower volume of diners.
But there is some good news. While the pandemic has forced restaurants to adopt digital sales channels, and to adapt to new distribution channels that consumers want to use, the restaurant technology providers are stepping up to accelerate their development efforts. This will allow restaurants to offer more dynamic promotions and to control their pricing by channel.
Furthermore, the consumer mindset has shifted and expectations have changed around restaurant pricing. Consumers want convenience and speed, and they're willing to pay a premium to have it. While 3rd party delivery companies have recognized this and have acted on it by yielding delivery fees when demand is high, restaurants have not yet had that capability.
JUICER is now working with restaurants to build a model that can quickly be rolled out to the entire industry which will allow restaurants to implement dynamic pricing methods in the way that they feel most comfortable. Our core team of founders each played a vital role in helping the hotel industry recover after September 11th, 2001 and we are proud to have come together to use our 20 years of experience to help the restaurant industry recover from the pandemic.