Why you should consider offering cooking classes at your restaurant post COVID-19

  Offering cooking classes at your restaurant is an excellent way to build your reputation as a delicious social hub in your community and diversify your revenue stream. While we’re in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic now, restaurants should be thinking about and looking towards cooking classes in the future as a way to financially recover from the pandemic.

We know that the financial implication of the COVID-19 pandemic in the US is going to require ongoing recovery. With limited in-person transactions, it’s no secret that retail and restaurant sales plummeted in the early months of 2020. While we are starting to see a slight bounce back in sales, there is still a lengthy road to financial recovery from the economic losses of 2020. In May, it was reported that as many as 100,000 small businesses have closed forever due to the pandemic. 

The National Restaurant Association’s 2030 Insights Report predicts that by 2030, there will be an increase in use of restaurants as a social gathering place, with the shuttering of traditional retail spaces. This prediction was made in 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, but illustrates the fast-growing need for social gathering spaces in a post-COVID world. 

All of this information coupled together is an excellent reason why post-COVID, you should start offering cooking classes. With a lack of physical meeting spaces and clear lack of in-person get togethers, cooking classes offer a fun, light-hearted, community-oriented activity for groups to enjoy. This can also be used as an effective tool to show your community that your restaurant is clean, safe, and still open for business. Consumer trust is an ever-present concern for restaurants in the pandemic, and it is earned, not given. Earn the trust of your community by giving them one on one time with your chef and create beautiful dishes in a professional kitchen setting. 

Sherane Chen, LLC is proud to be an innovative restaurant marketing firm. We know how much the restaurant and food industry have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and are committed to helping restaurants see returns on their investments when they entrust their marketing with us. Contact us today or call (386) 627-3628 for a consultation!