Only a couple of weeks ago, the world was a different place.
The coronavirus had not yet taken over every headline, and public health concerns had not forced the closures of or placed severe restrictions on restaurants and foodservice operations across the country, and in many pockets of the world.
In what was to be the beginning of a new spring season, including the Women’s Foodservice Forum Annual Leadership Development Conference in Dallas, Nation’s Restaurant News planned to highlight our Most Influential Women in Foodservice and introduce the 2020 class of Breakout Brands. And though these projects were developed in a pre-COVID-19 reality, we have chosen to highlight these executives and innovators as planned because we have always believed they are what make the foodservice industry great.
That message is now more important than ever, as restaurants will only get through this crisis together, as people first and businesses second.
There are signs everywhere that this industry has not thrown in the towel during what may very well be the most challenging and fraught moment in history for restaurants. Hospitality is thriving in delivery and takeout operations, restaurants’ commitment to community is ever-present in the offering of free meals to health care workers during this pandemic, or children during these school closures. Chefs, managers, CEOs and suppliers are coming together as best they can to save the paychecks of millions of people who drive our economy.
Our higher purpose at Nation’s Restaurant News is to serve as a partner to the industry to facilitate growth, both personally and professionally.
We are with you.
News, data, resources, leading voices, best practices and solutions are available on our coronavirus homepage. There are additional touchpoints on social media, through our podcasts and soon via video, webinar and special industry conversations aimed to first get restaurants through this time, second to prepare restaurants to recover, and finally to thrive further in the future.
There is no better time than now for thought leadership, communication and commitment — to each other, our teams, businesses and the wider foodservice ecosystem. Conversations must remain robust to bring people and business together to facilitate short-term aid, drive immediate innovation to allow restaurants to serve customers facing their own new realities, and bring leadership lessons to life at a time when we cannot have enough strong leaders.
Media is a powerful force in storytelling, solution sharing and collaboration, especially at a time when we cannot easily shake hands and exchange information face-to-face. Nation’s Restaurant News is committed to having the conversations we all need right now to support restaurants and foodservice. We are committed to you.
Contact Sarah Lockyer at [email protected]