Will Vaccinations Be the Only Ticket to Restaurants in the Future?

Just as the restaurant industry was starting to recover, the COVID-19 pandemic has thrown another wrench into the system. Although questions of safety protocols have been a major topic in the foodservice segment since the world started opening back up, the Delta variant has taken the issue one step further. 

Last week, Union Square Hospitality Group became one of the largest fine dining restaurant groups to issue a vaccine mandate for both customers and staff. Some smaller, independent restaurants and bars in major cities like Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago and Philadelphia also announced guests would be required to show proof of vaccination. 

Now, New York Mayor Bill De Blasio said on Tuesday that proof of vaccinations will be required of both workers and customers for indoor dining, making New York City the first major city to implement vaccination requirements for restaurants. Prior to entering a restaurant, diners must use the city's new digital app (NYC COVID Safe App), New York's Excelsior app or a paper card to show proof of vaccination. The mandate, which also applies to indoor fitness, entertainment and performance venues, will take effect Aug. 16 and will be enforced beginning Sept. 13. 

"We think it is so important to make clear that if you are vaccinated, you get to benefit in all sorts of ways,” De Blasio said during an interview with Inside City Hall on Monday. “You get to live a better life. Besides your health in general, you get to participate in many, many things. And if you're unvaccinated, [there are] going to be fewer and fewer things that you're able to do.”

How Vaccination Requirements Could Hinder Business Owner’s Bottom Line 

As restaurant brands scramble to drive post-pandemic recovery, disparate safety policies could cause confusion among customers and decrease systemwide sales. Considering the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention discovered on-site dining contributed to increased rates of COVID-19 related deaths, and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health found that half of the 10 largest confirmed COVID-19 workplace outbreaks in the county are in hospitality settings, customers have good reasons to be concerned.

According to a July report from Gartner, 24% of U.S. consumers think vaccinations should be required to dine indoors at a restaurant, while 28% believe proof of vaccination should be required to enter a bar or nightclub. 

If policies remain wildly different from restaurant to restaurant — or from city to city — customers may be more inclined to stay away from eating out at all.

The Potential Effect on the Ongoing Labor Crisis

Perhaps the biggest threat vaccination mandates pose to restaurant franchise owners is the potential to further accentuate the already brutal labor crisis. Service workers are fleeing the industry at record rates, and according to a One Fair Wage report, 55% of restaurant workers were thinking of leaving their jobs because of the harassment they faced when asking diners to comply with safety protocols.

The One Fair Wage report also notes 78% of workers said they saw or experienced hostile behavior from customers when enforcing COVID-19 protocols. The National Restaurant Association's ServSafe experts even created a Conflict De-escalation training module to support those front-of-house workers dealing with customer push-back. 

“I’m not ready to fight with customers again,” Orlando-based restaurant owner Emma Kirkpatrick told The New York Times. “Reinstituting a mask policy for customers at this point would be a much bigger fight than a few months ago when people were used to it.”

On the other hand, if clear guidance and support is given for the restaurant workforce, some employees may be more inclined to return to work if they know they will only be interacting with vaccinated customers and staff. 

“The whole thing is very polarizing and dividing,” New York City restaurant owner Ignacio Mattos told The Times. “But we need to find ways of keeping our business and our staff as safe as we can be. We can all be understanding that we’re doing the best we can in conditions that are challenging.”