Named the #1 Best Restaurant in Atlanta by Atlanta Magazine in 2019, Southern spot Miller Union was flying high going into 2020. James Beard Award-winning executive chef Steven Satterfield and co-owner, general manager, and sommelier Neal McCarthy became well known for a brand of warm hospitality that catered to both everyday meals and major celebrations. 

So when COVID-19 hit and they closed their dining room on March 15th, Satterfield and McCarthy scrambled to adapt and survive. They were grateful to be tapped by the Atlanta Hawks Foundation and State Farm to cook meals for frontline workers at Emory Healthcare’s hospital system for seven weeks, allowing them to keep their staff employed. But they knew that was only a short term fix while they planned for what was next. 

“We targeted June 1st for our relaunch and spent the whole month of May in planning mode,” says Satterfield. “We were figuring out how to build more outdoor areas and create socially distanced spaces inside.” Cautiously optimistic that diners would return, the team was thrilled to see a good response when they reopened. “We were doing pretty well for June,” says Satterfield. “We did some takeout, but we were really focused on driving dine-in business.”

But the dine-in boom was short-lived when many southern states saw a spike in COVID-19 cases. “We started looking at more ways that we could push takeout because we felt like this is where we had to go in order to stay relevant,” says Satterfield.

As the dining landscape continues to evolve with the pandemic, telling the unique story of your restaurant is more important than ever. Public relations principles can help keep your guests informed, use the right tone, reach new markets, and get creative with new revenue streams. We spoke with three hospitality PR experts for their best advice for navigating the current landscape and keeping your business top of mind for guests.

The restaurant industry has transformed completely in a matter of days. In the absence of crowded dining rooms, eateries across the country and world have been testing creative ways to continue doing business. We at Resy have been inspired and humbled by the many innovative ways our restaurant partners are serving their customers outside of the dining room. From cocktail delivery to virtual tastings, below is a small sample of tactics you can draw inspiration from to generate revenue at your restaurant in a socially-distanced world.

Dear Restaurants,

We have been closely monitoring the rapidly evolving situation with regards to COVID-19. As you take measures to ensure the wellbeing of your staff and guests, and continue providing hospitality in a time of huge uncertainty, know that Resy is here to support you. These are challenging times, and we are committed to standing by you during this time of crisis. We will be presenting guidance that we have aggregated across the industry. 

Everyone’s a critic. While in some markets it can still take a local food writer up to a month after your grand opening to publish a well-researched review in the newspaper, that’s no longer the case in many places. Today, guests have multiple avenues to provide feedback from the moment you open your doors.

As the Social Content Manager for Resy, I spend a lot of my time thinking about how I can best communicate who we are to diners all over the world through our social media posts. Before landing here, I spent several years working for public relations and social media agencies, finding the best copy, images, and videos to represent my restaurant clients. Although it can feel like the social platform landscape gets more crowded every day (I’m still learning TikTok), Instagram is still the best app to showcase the look and feel of your restaurant to potential diners. Because of Instagram’s visual-forward layout, it provides the most opportunity to open the curtain for local eaters to see the atmosphere and food in your restaurant. 

As you know, Valentine's Day is one of the biggest nights of the year for restaurants. Last year saw a new Valentine’s Day record spend of $20.7 billion, with 34% of that spent on an evening out. With a strong economy, and the holiday falling on a Friday this year, Valentine’s Day 2020 is likely to be another record-breaking year.