Neverending Covid-19 Coronavirus

[RenegadeMonster]

I just heard a report about Delivery and To Go orders are here to stay and restaurants which they would just go away.

Despite almost all covid restrictions easing, delivery and to go orders are still much higher than pre-covid. Consumers have grown accustomed to the conveniences or ordering from an app and never having to interact with a person. Fast delivery times and so on.

But deliveries are expensive. Most third party delivery services like GrubHub, DoorDash, Uber Eats and what not charge a 30% fee to the restaurant. Not to mention if something goes wrong with the delivery it's the restaurant that takes the blame if it if it's not their fault. It's also the restaurant who has to refund the consumer. This eats a lot out of a restaurants margin, and for some, delivery orders operate in the red.

When it comes to To Go / Pick Up orders, restaurants are struggling to balance the need of preparing all the food for To Go orders while taking care of the people dining in. In many cases, they simply don't have the capacity to keep up without a larger kitchen during peak times.

Restaurants are now fighting back. While many have been unsuccessful at getting rid of these options they added early on during the pandemic due to high consumer demand, they are trying to make them less desirable. For example, some have started passing on the 30% fee for delivery to consumers. Others are limiting their menu options for To Go and Delivery orders. And in some cases, a completely different menu is offered that is exclusive to To Go and Delivery orders. These exclusive menus are known as "virtual brands" and their goals are to be higher profit margin menu items, more efficient to fulfil orders and attract new customers.

My favorite restaurant in salem has tried to get rid of To Go service a few times now but always ends up bringing it back. They never had To Go or delivery options prior to Covid. They added a To Go window in the the back during Covids stay at home order. As soon as indoor dining was allowed again at full capacity they got rid of to go. Only to bring it back due to new waves / variants and consumer demand.

The latest version of the To Go window is by membership / club only. You sign up for 1 to 4 meals a month. Each meals is 4 servings. Their club menu is completely different from their dine in menu options, and you pick your meal(s) from a monthly menu and pick the day(s) you want to pick up your fully cooked meal box.

Apparently this membership meal box to go thing is a big hit and a lot of people do it. I suspect it's here to stay now.

 

[AnthonyI]

I just heard a report about Delivery and To Go orders are here to stay and restaurants which they would just go away.

Despite almost all covid restrictions easing, delivery and to go orders are still much higher than pre-covid. Consumers have grown accustomed to the conveniences or ordering from an app and never having to interact with a person. Fast delivery times and so on.

But deliveries are expensive. Most third party delivery services like GrubHub, DoorDash, Uber Eats and what not charge a 30% fee to the restaurant. Not to mention if something goes wrong with the delivery it's the restaurant that takes the blame if it if it's not their fault. It's also the restaurant who has to refund the consumer. This eats a lot out of a restaurants margin, and for some, delivery orders operate in the red.

When it comes to To Go / Pick Up orders, restaurants are struggling to balance the need of preparing all the food for To Go orders while taking care of the people dining in. In many cases, they simply don't have the capacity to keep up without a larger kitchen during peak times.

Restaurants are now fighting back. While many have been unsuccessful at getting rid of these options they added early on during the pandemic due to high consumer demand, they are trying to make them less desirable. For example, some have started passing on the 30% fee for delivery to consumers. Others are limiting their menu options for To Go and Delivery orders. And in some cases, a completely different menu is offered that is exclusive to To Go and Delivery orders. These exclusive menus are known as "virtual brands" and their goals are to be higher profit margin menu items, more efficient to fulfil orders and attract new customers.

My favorite restaurant in salem has tried to get rid of To Go service a few times now but always ends up bringing it back. They never had To Go or delivery options prior to Covid. They added a To Go window in the the back during Covids stay at home order. As soon as indoor dining was allowed again at full capacity they got rid of to go. Only to bring it back due to new waves / variants and consumer demand.

The latest version of the To Go window is by membership / club only. You sign up for 1 to 4 meals a month. Each meals is 4 servings. Their club menu is completely different from their dine in menu options, and you pick your meal(s) from a monthly menu and pick the day(s) you want to pick up your fully cooked meal box.

Apparently this membership meal box to go thing is a big hit and a lot of people do it. I suspect it's here to stay now.

I feel sorry for what so many restaurants went through, and are probably still going through, but when things like this happen you have to make a choice, adapt or don't............but, that choice, now, has a $ attached to it. Society is weird, we bitch and moan about stuff, then give in/accept it and then make it the norm, right or wrong.

That being said, never underestimate what the consumer is willing to pay for and how much they're willing to pay for it............I remember when cable first popped up and people were up in arms that a company wanted them to PAY to watch television. Right or wrong, look at all the things the majority pays for now.

 

[nolalady]

They've noted higher rates of ED in men who had Covid, but what is more concerning is that this could be a symptom of long Covid as well, which from data that came out of Israel, vaccination status has no effect on developing long Covid. I know there's a study from the US that suggests this isn't the case, but I believe the science from Israel more.

 

[Bull Shannon]

I just heard a report about Delivery and To Go orders are here to stay and restaurants which they would just go away.

Despite almost all covid restrictions easing, delivery and to go orders are still much higher than pre-covid. Consumers have grown accustomed to the conveniences or ordering from an app and never having to interact with a person. Fast delivery times and so on.

But deliveries are expensive. Most third party delivery services like GrubHub, DoorDash, Uber Eats and what not charge a 30% fee to the restaurant. Not to mention if something goes wrong with the delivery it's the restaurant that takes the blame if it if it's not their fault. It's also the restaurant who has to refund the consumer. This eats a lot out of a restaurants margin, and for some, delivery orders operate in the red.

When it comes to To Go / Pick Up orders, restaurants are struggling to balance the need of preparing all the food for To Go orders while taking care of the people dining in. In many cases, they simply don't have the capacity to keep up without a larger kitchen during peak times.

Restaurants are now fighting back. While many have been unsuccessful at getting rid of these options they added early on during the pandemic due to high consumer demand, they are trying to make them less desirable. For example, some have started passing on the 30% fee for delivery to consumers. Others are limiting their menu options for To Go and Delivery orders. And in some cases, a completely different menu is offered that is exclusive to To Go and Delivery orders. These exclusive menus are known as "virtual brands" and their goals are to be higher profit margin menu items, more efficient to fulfil orders and attract new customers.

My favorite restaurant in salem has tried to get rid of To Go service a few times now but always ends up bringing it back. They never had To Go or delivery options prior to Covid. They added a To Go window in the the back during Covids stay at home order. As soon as indoor dining was allowed again at full capacity they got rid of to go. Only to bring it back due to new waves / variants and consumer demand.

The latest version of the To Go window is by membership / club only. You sign up for 1 to 4 meals a month. Each meals is 4 servings. Their club menu is completely different from their dine in menu options, and you pick your meal(s) from a monthly menu and pick the day(s) you want to pick up your fully cooked meal box.

Apparently this membership meal box to go thing is a big hit and a lot of people do it. I suspect it's here to stay now.

I feel sorry for what so many restaurants went through, and are probably still going through, but when things like this happen you have to make a choice, adapt or don't............but, that choice, now, has a $ attached to it. Society is weird, we bitch and moan about stuff, then give in/accept it and then make it the norm, right or wrong.

That being said, never underestimate what the consumer is willing to pay for and how much they're willing to pay for it............I remember when cable first popped up and people were up in arms that a company wanted them to PAY to watch television. Right or wrong, look at all the things the majority pays for now.

Maybe I'm an outlier, but 1) shouldn't takeout already be integrated into most restaurants' business models?, and more acutely 2) why does togo/delivery have to necessitate a third party app? Ok, delivery I get; unless you're doing pizza (but now I ask why is pizza the default must-deliver food type?), hiring a dedicated employee to drive food around town probably isn't cost-effective, but if you don't have a public-facing phone number for takeout orders, you're missing out on business.

Again, I may be the outlier here; when I order takeout I usually check for a direct line first and accept the time/gas cost of going to get the food vs. the cost of having an underpaid someone ferry it to me. Whereas my wife immediately goes to Doordash and looks for the specific place she wants to order from. I imagine there's some business to be lost in going app-agnostic, but that's gotta be offset by the lack of fees.

This might also vary from region to region; in the PNW where a lot of people are still reluctant to eat indoors and the weather makes outdoor seating unpleasant, plenty of eateries have pivoted to basically being food windows and turned their former seating areas to prep/storage. Several places even switched their dine-in process to online ordering where you pay on your phone and indicate your table number, which feels like a blurring of the line between dine-in and takeout, which I actually think has some interesting potential for industry change. For better or worse, I'm unsure.

 

[RenegadeMonster]

Maybe I'm an outlier, but 1) shouldn't takeout already be integrated into most restaurants' business models?, and more acutely 2) why does togo/delivery have to necessitate a third party app?

A lot of traditional restaurants didn't have take out or delivery options prior to covid. And when the stay at home orders hit they had to adapt. Often adapting third party solutions and not doing things in the most efficient way.

Now they are finding them in a place where consumers don't want them to take away the delivery and to go options. They will have to adapt and improve on their offerings.

Yes a dedicated phone line would be better, but let's face it. A lot of people don't like the human interaction or having to hold and just prefer to order on an app. And most restaurants don't have the budget to have someone build their own app.

 

[debianlinux]

My favorite Chinese place is in a former fast food drive thru location. Pre pandemic they ran drive thru and sat tables. During lockdown it seemed like their business probably quadrupled and they ran only drive thru.

Now, though, they stopped the drive thru altogether and I kind of hate them for it.

 

[Turbo]

My favorite Chinese place is in a former fast food drive thru location. Pre pandemic they ran drive thru and sat tables. During lockdown it seemed like their business probably quadrupled and they ran only drive thru.

Now, though, they stopped the drive thru altogether and I kind of hate them for it.

Drive thru chinese? How does that work? Do they have a ready made food/buffet? Or do you have to wait a bit for the stir fry to get done (like Thai Express if you have those), but I guess that would hold back the drive through, no?

 

[RenegadeMonster]

Drive thru chinese? How does that work? Do they have a ready made food/buffet? Or do you have to wait a bit for the stir fry to get done (like Thai Express if you have those), but I guess that would hold back the drive through, no?

My guess is it's just a drive thru window for picking up your orders. Not actually ordering.

 

[RenegadeMonster]

New studies bring BA.2 variant into sharper focus | CNN

On the heels of concerning new lab and animal experiments suggesting that BA.2 may be capable of causing more severe disease than the original Omicron strain, two new studies are helping to show how well human immunity is defending against this strain in the real world.

www.cnn.com

BA.2 is 30% more transmissible than the original strain of Omicron and capable of creating more severe disease.

 

[Turbo]

My guess is it's just a drive thru window for picking up your orders. Not actually ordering.

Ah, makes sense. We don't have anything like that here. Drive-thru's are all like those fast food joints where you order in the microphone at one end and pick-up at the window after. Take-outs are usually in person.

 

[Max Sterling]

Our school district announced by email last night at 7pm that the mask requirement has ended, effective this morning. 12 hours' notice. Cool.

We just lowered to tier two here at my place of work which means masks are by choice, unless you're someone with an exception to be unvaccinated, in which case you must still wear a mask.

 

[debianlinux]

My guess is it's just a drive thru window for picking up your orders. Not actually ordering.

Yeah, you order online or by phone and pick up at the drive thru (or used to).

 

[RenegadeMonster]

Covid-19 is killing more people now than during most of the pandemic. Here's who's still at risk | CNN

Plummeting Covid-19 case counts across the United States are leading to lifted mask mandates and more conversations about steps toward normalcy -- but more people are dying of the coronavirus now than during most points of the pandemic.

www.cnn.com

I didn't realize covid-19 deaths now are higher than most any other point in the pandemic. And this is the time we re choosing to fully lift restrictions and return to normal.

 

[Turbo]

Covid-19 is killing more people now than during most of the pandemic. Here's who's still at risk | CNN

Plummeting Covid-19 case counts across the United States are leading to lifted mask mandates and more conversations about steps toward normalcy -- but more people are dying of the coronavirus now than during most points of the pandemic.

www.cnn.com

I didn't realize covid-19 deaths now are higher than most any other point in the pandemic. And this is the time we re choosing to fully lift restrictions and return to normal.

Yep. I've been saying this to everyone around me. Nobody is listening anymore.

 

[RenegadeMonster]

Meanwhile in the UK. All restrictions are being lifted as they enter a phase of "living with covid". This also includes no need to quarantine after testing positive and showing symptoms.

Boris is basically saying we can't restrict the liberties of British people forever. We have to accept covid is here and to stay. And we need to learn to live with it.

 

[Joe Mac]

Meanwhile in the UK. All restrictions are being lifted as they enter a phase of "living with covid". This also includes no need to quarantine after testing positive and showing symptoms.

Boris is basically saying we can't restrict the liberties of British people forever. We have to accept covid is here and to stay. And we need to learn to live with it.

We’ve done pretty much the same here tbh. As much as I dislike Boris our vaccination rates put us in a hugely different place to you.

 

[Dtknuckles]

This is not news to someone who works with kids who have disabilities. I’m still waiting on the Feds to fully fund a law that was created in the 70’s.

I was just hearing reading some stories and watching news reports on the local NBC station about America moving on and leaving those with disabilities or are at high risk on their own to fend for themselves

 

[RenegadeMonster]

Surprised no one brought this up yet, but late last week the CDC changed their guidance.

Most healthy adults no longer have to wear masks. Only those who are considered high risk should continue to wear masks.

Most states and cities have already lifted mandates before the CDC made these changes to their guidance.


What horrifies me, is the top question in regards to the CDC's new guidance people have is "Does this mean that the pandemic is over now?"

Cases are still high. Deaths right now are around the highest levels recorded during the pandemic so far. But the new guidance is all about the current trajectory looks good (new cases and positivity rates are on the decline), most people have either been vaccinated or have natural immunity due to prior infection. Overall the disease currently is less severe though for people should be able to make their own decisions as to whether or not they wear a mask.

But most people will take this as "we did it boys. It's officially over. We can return to normal".

 

[dhodo]

Welp, two days from my wife's due date and my youngest has COVID. May have been from my mother in law who we saw over the weekend. She tested herself after we told her and has it for the 3rd time . Hopefully we don't get significantly sick. He seems better than last night already, just had a low fever then. Just terrible luck after two years of avoidance this is when it hits.

 

[Dtknuckles]

Welp, two days from my wife's due date and my youngest has COVID. May have been from my mother in law who we saw over the weekend. She tested herself after we told her and has it for the 3rd time . Hopefully we don't get significantly sick. He seems better than last night already, just had a low fever then. Just terrible luck after two years of avoidance this is when it hits.

My kid had it for two days, but my wife two weeks. Not fun times.