In this week’s episode of Seat Yourself and our mini-series On The Frontlines, Chicago-based Greg Kirrish returns for a different type of discussion. Some listeners may recall that Greg joined us approximately a month ago to talk about what was happening on the street in hospitality in the greater Chicago area.

This week, we asked Greg to join us to talk about the various restaurant re-opening protocols being discussed as cities around the world begin to open or consider when they will reopen for business. There are lots of considerations and none of them will be either easy or fast.

Then, in our second segment, we take on the issue of mom-and-pop restaurants and their possibilities for survival versus the chains. Can these individual restaurants regain success and, if so, how will the dining out experience differ from large regional and even national chains be?
#TabletopMatters

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This week, we head north to Canada as we catch up with and have a conversation with Canadian foodservice expert Brian Wood.

​For the past 30+ years, Brian has been fully engaged in the Canadian hospitality sector from a wide variety of perspectives, now as CEO of his own foodservice agency selling to dealers from coast to coast. Knowing the market from the ground up, Brian is closely tied to both dealers and operators throughout Canada and he fills us in on the current situation there. He also sheds light on issues importers can be having with their global supply chain.

As always, our intention in each of our On The Frontlines conversations is to get expert commentary and thoughts on what is happening in a particular market or region of the world. And we also want to understand what these thought-leaders like Brian Wood and his colleagues at Rabco Foodservice are doing now to prepare for their eventual return to normal business conditions. Along with that…. more and more we are also discussing what that “new normal” may look like.

Throughout each and every one of these conversations, it seems quite apparent that – in hospitality, whether you are a supplier, a supply chain player or an operator…we all are realizing we’re all in this situation together. That idea of #inthistogether is fast become one of the things that we love most about this challenging situation.
As the world begins to pivot towards re-opening, we’d now also add passion to the common themes we have mentioned earlier of resilience, creativity and optimism that remain fully embedded with the frontline “warriors” we have been speaking to.

Thank you for joining our podcast this week on Seat Yourself’s “On The Frontlines” mini-series, featuring this week’s guest – Brian Wood, CEO of Canada’s Rabco Foodservice.
#TabletopMatters
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​This week, we stay in Europe as we catch up with Copenhagen’s Zander Lauritzen Hansen from his business Scandic Bar. Zander is closely tied to the bar and restaurant sector throughout the Scandinavian region and fills us in on the current situation there.

As always, our intention in each of our On The Frontlines conversations is to get expert commentary and thoughts on what is happening in a particular market or region of the world. And we also want to understand what these thought-leaders are doing now to prepare for their eventual return to normal business conditions. Along with that…. more and more we are also discussing what that “new normal” may look like.

Our conversations from our On The Frontlines mini-series continue to point out that, no matter where we are in this world, our situations within the hospitality sector remain similar. And, it seems quite apparent that – in hospitality, whether you are a supplier, a supply chain player or an operator - we are realizing the we’re all in this situation together. That’s part of the greatness of the hospitality industry.
​
Resilience, creativity and optimism remain common themes which are great to see in our conversations, as well.
Thank you for joining our podcast this week on Seat Yourself’s “On The Frontlines” mini-series, featuring this week’s guest – Zander Lauritzen Hansen.

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This week, we travel to Europe as we speak with David Otto from Holland’s Tovari company. In our conversation with David, we discuss the current COVID-19 situation in Holland and the surrounding European countries, along with what David and his colleagues at Tovari are doing to prepare for when the HoReCa business returns.

You may recognize David and Tovari from our interview that we did last year with him and Tovari owner Ivar van Riel. Their company represents some of the very best hospitality tabletop products and does an especially great job at merchandising in both their own catalogs and brochures, along with their showrooms and trade fair stands.

Once again, our intention in each of our On The Frontlines conversations is to get expert commentary on what is happening in a particular market or region of the world. And we also want to understand what leaders are doing now to prepare for their eventual return to normal business conditions – whatever “normal” may mean then.

The reason we’re sharing ideas on actions others are taking is so that we can all learn from each other. After all, we are ALL in this together.

That’s the greatness of the hospitality industry. Now, more than ever, we continue to stand together.

Thank you for joining our podcast this week on Seat Yourself’s “On The Frontlines” mini-series, featuring this week’s guest – David Otto.
#TabletopMatters

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