The last time ECRM's Joseph Tarnowski spoke with Art Sutley and Ashley Bray, Publisher and Editor respectively of Bar Business Magazine, it was April and we were early in the lockdown phase due to the coronavirus pandemic. During that interview, they discussed what bars and restaurants need to do to survive the lockdown, and what they need to start thinking about when we eventually started reopening.

Now bars and restaurants beginning to reopen. Well, kind of. The country is really a patchwork of different phases of re-opening, with some places allowing limited indoor seating, others, like my home city of New York just recently allowing outdoor dining. Then you have other areas that opened up earlier that are now shutting down due to spikes in Covid cases, many caused by reopening too early, or doing it improperly – or both.

So during this interview Joe, Art and Ashley discuss the current state of the industry as it pertains to opening back up for business, and some best practices bars and restaurants can deploy in order to provide a safe operation for guests, while at the same time maximizing revenue opportunities. As you’ll learn from the interview, these two things are often closely tied together.