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A Year of COVID: The Mother of Invention

Here’s a look back at some of the most creative operational solutions during the pandemic, from dining in yurts to high-end meal kits for delivery

Joanna Fantozzi, Senior Editor

March 17, 2021

20 Slides
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The restaurant industry buzzword of 2020 was pivot. As we approach the one-year anniversary of the first COVID-19-era lockdowns, we’re taking a look back at how restaurants pivoted to thrive (or just survive) in the face of shuttered dining rooms and vanishing customers.

From simply adding delivery and takeout options for the first time or trying out virtual kitchens, to thinking up even more creative solutions like fine-dining drive-thrus, virtual events and even employing drag performers as delivery drivers/entertainers, we’re highlighting the best of the most innovative restaurant solutions during the pandemic.

Some of these operations, menu, and off-premise solutions will likely be confined to the COVID era (like filling empty dining rooms with mannequins), while other innovations and investments have changed the restaurant industry forever like the rise of ghost kitchens and the modernized drive-thru design.

Keep clicking to read more from our innovations year in review: the Mother of Invention.

About the Author

Joanna Fantozzi

Senior Editor

Joanna Fantozzi is a Senior Editor for Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality. She has more than seven years of experience writing about the restaurant and hospitality industry. Her editorial coverage ranges from profiles of independent restaurants around the country to breaking news and insights into some of the biggest brands in food and beverage, including Starbucks, Domino’s, and Papa John’s.  

Joanna holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature and creative writing from The College of New Jersey and a master’s degree in arts and culture journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY. Prior to joining Informa’s Restaurants and Food Group in 2018, she was a freelance food, culture, and lifestyle writer, and has previously held editorial positions at Insider (formerly known as Business Insider) and The Daily Meal. Joanna’s work can also be found in The New York Times, Forbes, Vice, The New York Daily News, and Parents Magazine. 

Her areas of expertise include restaurant industry news, restaurant operator solutions and innovations, and political/cultural issues.

Joanna Fantozzi has been a moderator and event facilitator at both Informa’s MUFSO and Restaurants Rise industry events. 

Joanna Fantozzi’s experience:

Senior Editor, Informa Restaurant & Food Group (August 2021-present)

Associate Editor, Informa Restaurant & Food Group (July 2019-August 2021)

Assistant Editor, Informa Restaurant & Food Group (Oct. 2018-July 2019)

Freelance Food & Lifestyle Reporter (Feb. 2018-Oct. 2018)

Food & Lifestyle Reporter, Insider (June 2017-Feb. 2018)

News Editor, The Daily Meal (Jan. 2014- June 2017)

Staff Reporter, Straus News (Jan. 2013-Dec. 2013)

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