Rapoport Restaurant Group

Rapoport’s Restaurant Group

Adapting and Evolving

Article By: Amber Clark, Director of Marketing & PR Rapoport’s Restaurant Group

2020 was starting off to be a record-breaking season for Rapoport’s Restaurant Group. Sales were up, moral was high and guests were happy. Then, by March, the unexpected Coronavirus began to make its way into Florida. The Rapoport’s corporate team and restaurant managers began discussing all the “what-ifs” and scenarios to prepare for what could be a shut down. Communication was key. We kept our staff and our guests informed on all the new protocols and mandates to ensure we remained safely open. But by March 20th all restaurants and bars were ordered to be closed for dine-in services, with no definite end to the shut-downs in sight. We made the tough decision to only operate take out and delivery from Prezzo, which meant over 300 employees were put on furlough.

The restaurants may not have been open, but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t work to be done behind the scenes. Burt Rapoport, a few corporate employees, the general managers and executive chefs got to work looking for ways to improve our restaurants and prepare for re-opening. Our quarantine advancements included the introduction of online ordering, launching text message marketing, researching new POS systems to upgrade to (which we completed the transition in September), updating employee handbooks and service guides, creating our new Covid-19 protocols for reopening, applying for the PPP loans and more. We got creative with our takeout at Prezzo, quickly adding family-style meals and alcohol to our new online ordering system as well as running limited time ‘date night deals’ with free bottles of wine. Deck 84 and Prezzo created holiday to go packages for Easter, Passover, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day where we offered contactless curbside pickup or free delivery. We also used the quarantine to take care of our staff, inviting them in for free meals and allowing them to pick up fruits, vegetables, and other perishables from our shut down locations to bring home to their families.

With the media mainly focused on Coronavirus updates and surges, we knew we needed to lean more towards a grassroots effort to get the word out about our holiday specials and keep Prezzo operating through the quarantine. The Greater Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce and the City of Boca Raton remained in constant communication with us. The Chamber was consistently supporting the restaurant community on all of their channels – social media, email newsletters and website – by providing updates on specials, operational hour changes, holiday deals and more. They consistently checked in with us, asking how they can help and following through.

In late April, we received the Payroll Protection Program funding for Deck 84, Burt & Max's and Prezzo. Max's Grille is part of a large public company and didn’t qualify for this particular loan. Seventy-five percent of the loan proceeds went to our employees. They received salaries for eight weeks which started on April 22. We were thrilled that we were able to pass along these funds to our cherished and loyal employees. The remaining twenty-five percent covered some of the rent.

We used those eight weeks to be as productive as possible. When it came time to reopen in May, it was extremely important to us that our staff and guests felt safe and comfortable in our dining establishments. We commissioned Food Safety & Inspection Services to educate, train, and continually evaluate all of our staff on the best possible Covid-19 protocols and procedures. One of those procedures included creating a new position, Sanitation Administrator (SA). Sporting a white lab coat, the SA sanitizes all touchable surfaces including restrooms, tables, chairs, door handles, pens, computers, bar tops and more. We also used the time to conduct a deep clean. Scrubbing and sanitizing every cabinet, shelf, kitchenware, light fixture, fan, booth, table, chair and more throughout the entire restaurant.

Even though we have incurred significant financial losses during this crisis, we are 100% committed to the safety of our guests and staff, no matter the costs, and to continue our mission to remain a premier restaurant company in south Florida by exceeding our guest’s expectations of quality, value, friendliness and ambiance.

"Even though we have incurred significant financial losses during this crisis, we are 100% committed to the safety of our guests and staff." -Amber Clark

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Michelle Adams VP/Market Manager

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