Bringing Optimism Back to the Restaurant Industry

The dining experience has endured a seismic shift during the
pandemic. What have experts learned in the last year, and what
does the future hold? Taking on the topic, host Barbara Castiglia
welcomed Buck Sleeper, Director of Retail and Restaurants
at EPAM Continuum.


Sleeper, an architect by trade, now focuses on experiment design
at EPAM, specializing in restaurants and other verticals. The
company has been an innovator and thought leader in the area, and
Sleeper has a keen eye for the dining experience.


As the pandemic began, Sleeper wrote an open letter to the
industry. “Everything was shutting down, and there was a helpless
feeling. My letter focused on three points—lifting up employees,
supporting communities, and expanding offerings,” he said.


By expansion, he noted pivoting to curbside and delivery, and
succeeding would require both function and feeling.


He believes curbside is here to stay, but increasing human
interaction is still a challenge. The delivery conundrum is
weighing heavily on restaurants, with rising costs associated
with it. Sleeper urged restaurants to be “transparent about
costs.” That honesty can also build loyalty.


Sleeper also spoke about research from the EPAM group on currents
of change, which identified six major trends ahead. He said, “One
is the isolation impact of the pandemic, and restaurants can
learn from this by understanding the context of how people are
dining now.”


He also added that outdoor dining is here to stay—“It’s a little
bit of Paris to downtown America.”


He also feels optimistic about the future post-COVID, noting that
people will want to connect and celebrate, and there’s no better
place to do that than over a shared meal.