This Monday (1st June) restaurants can reopen following the reduction of COVID-19 restrictions. Restaurants inside pubs, bars, RSLs and other licensed venues will also be allowed to reopen, with up to 20 pax in each separate space. As Melbournians head to restaurants in groups no larger than 6 people, their dining experience will now be very different to before the lockdown.
Australian owned tech platform HungryHungry is helping restaurants serve customers through contactless, digital menus, whereby patrons simply scan a QR code on entry or at the table so the menu appears on their phone. They can then order and pay for their food without touching a menu, ensuring the safety of both staff and customers as well as preventing queuing to pay at the cashier. This new technology also makes splitting the bill easier, as diners can pay for what they have ordered directly and securely through ApplePay, Google Pay, PayPal or credit card.
HungryHungry has also been the platform that’s brought over 1,000 Aussie venues online during the Coronavirus crisis, many of which never offered takeaway before, with many of Melbourne’s favourite restaurants among those jumping on board the takeaway bandwagon during lockdown.
Frustrated with how hospitality has been singled out unlike a number of other industries who received relief packages from the government or remained unregulated (e.g. the construction industry), Joseph Vargetto, owner of Mister Bianco felt they had no choice but to do takeaway and HungryHungry allowed them to set this up quickly and effectively within 48 hours. During the COVID-19 lockdown the technology also allowed customers to enter the colour of their vehicle and registration plate so staff could run the orders out to their cars limiting contact. They are looking forward to reopening their Kew venue with QR codes for menus so guests can order and pay without touching reusable menus and they can do this in a sustainable way.
Another Melbourne favourite adopting the new contactless technology in their venue is Estelle (part of the Pickett and Co group). Owner Scott Pickett employed HungryHungry to get the venue online to do takeaway for the first time in the group’s history. Scott commented: “It was a totally new experience for us as our venue is more fine dining, whilst we will be doing digital menus, orders will still be taken at the table with wait staff so food can be explained, dietaries noted and questions answered.”
Prahran and Fitzroy hotspots Ladro have been offering not only delivery but also ‘drive-up’ and ‘walk-up’ means of takeaway. Diners have been ordering take-away online and Drive-Up to Ladro’s designated pick-up points in Fitzroy & Prahran for safe, hygienic pick-up. They are eagerly awaiting their reopening on the 1st of June with guests able to order and pay from their phones through HungryHungry’s digital menus.
Mark Calabro, Co-Founder of HungryHungry, said: “We’re thrilled to have been able to help Australia’s restaurants and bars get through this tough time. The industry has completely changed and restaurants reopening certainly won’t mean business as usual. The social distancing restrictions will mean reduced daily patrons, so restaurants will still heavily rely on pickup and delivery and may not reopen in-venue dining until restrictions are lifted. We’ll also be there to assist with contactless in-venue dining so Australians can order and pay from digital menus on their own phone to maximise staff and customer safety.”
“As a business we will continue to offer both in venue contactless menu and ordering options as well as online solutions to enable pick up and delivery to ensure we can support as many restaurants, pubs and bars around Australia during these challenging times”, he added.