With the nation’s current state of hysteria surrounding Hurricane Matthew and the Farmer’s Almanac predicting bitter cold snaps and record snowfalls, the idea of staying open during weather related phenomena may very well be on the mind of millions of restaurant owners. This idea isn’t new and to their defense, is not entirely preposterous and could very well bring many positive outcomes besides monetary gains. That being said, how do you start making headway in preparing for the situation? How do you even justify staying open? Most importantly, is it safe?
Deciding to stay open during a natural disaster is a difficult decision and sometimes a state of emergency tends to discourage a lot of people from operating. But let’s say you do decide to stay open. What do you to prepare yourself because it certainly is not business as usual? To begin, the first steps happen weeks, even months in advance of any natural disaster.
- It may prove beneficial to connect with public safety officials to become familiar with the safety protocol and to get involved with the plan. One potential avenue to take is to become a shelter for the community, making you a destination in storms
- One of the biggest things you can do to prepare for opening in these storms is to make sure you’re prepared! That means making sure your generator works, also being up to date on all of your maintenance from ovens to ice machines and refrigerators and know where you stand from an operating standpoint. If you are not, Clark’s has an unmatched planned maintenance program, and we would love to help you prepare! http://www.clarkservicegroup.com/planned-maintenance)
- Lastly, spread the word through your social media outlets to let everyone know that you are the place to be the hurricane party headquarters.
However, the question on every owners mind is: Is it worth it? What do I stand to gain? The answer to that is simple, everything! In these situations, especially in small communities restaurants can be a huge rallying point for many people. Often in natural disasters, dining choices may be limited so as one of the few places open people could potentially flock to you. More often than not, these natural disasters can be intimidating for people and many might be uneasy weathering the storm alone so having a community restaurant as a shining beacon in the middle of a storm might be enough for people to feel safer. Also, you offer a sense of camaraderie for the town to indulge in during a trying time. Lastly, and overlooked too often, people get very bored during storms and having something to do like going to their favorite spot to meet friends could easily liven up the atmosphere for everyone and take their attention away from what’s happening outside.
While all of this may be great, it is important to be considerate when making the decision to stay open. Sometimes it is just too dangerous for people to be outside and on the roads, so always encourage people to keep safety in their minds if they decide to go out. If you have any questions about what you might need, visit: http://www.cdc.gov/disasters/index.html for more important tips.
Ultimately, making this choice cannot be an easy one, but I definitely think there are some glaring positives to staying open during strong storms and could help your identity within the community! Stay safe!
Ultimately, making this choice cannot be an easy one, but I definitely think there are some glaring positives to staying open during strong storms and could help your identity within the community! Stay safe!