www.broadwayworld.com: The ongoing global health crisis has affected businesses all over the world, many of which have been forced to shutter their doors- leaving millions of people out of work- in order to slow the spread of COVID-19. The arts and hospitality industries have been hit especially hard, with the hospitality industry in New York City facing a decline of over 400,000 jobs, and the arts industry facing around 1.4 million jobs lost overall in the United States.
3 comments:
I think this idea of theatrical designers and shops designing and building the outdoor seating solutions for restaurants is so smart and so exciting. It seems like a mutually beneficial system for everyone involved: the restaurants are getting outdoor seating solutions and the shops are getting work. I am curious though, where the money to pay the people designing and building these tables and seating is coming from. Because it seems to me that the restaurant industry would not have many available funds after being shut down for so long to hire a designer, assistant designers, and the build team for these projects. I just hope everyone was getting paid well, which it seems like they were, but I’m still curious. I am curious to see what they do for the colder months especially in New York and Chicago and places that get very cold and a lot of snow. But it seems like they don’t really know what they are doing yet, but they do have some ideas in place with heated seats and space heaters.
I have always been very intrigued by the performance that is dining and restaurant services and it is really interesting to see these two worlds come together. The way that wait staff function as actors, keeping everything running smoothly for the guests, to the kitchen being the crew members, there are ample similarities between the worlds of food service and theater. In this case, this is an excellent example of how ingenuity can help bring back jobs and work during the pandemic. It seems very likely that outdoor dining will be becoming part of our new normal and there definitely will be a need to continue furnishing these spaces. I think it will be great to see in what ways outdoor dining evolves, and the different set ups that will start being used. Questions about how to make outdoor dining more comfortable and enjoyable are now more important than ever and it will be interesting to see what the restaurant industry evolves into.
Despite my pessimistic attitude on most concepts regarding theatre in a pandemic, this particular solution by SET Solutions NYC sounds interesting to me. Outdoor dining has become so commonplace today. Every major street you walk down will now have little tables outside for guests to enjoy a meal. It’s risky, forsure, and I do prefer takeout… but I have eaten outdoors once like so, and it was a perfectly enjoyable experience. (I mostly just feel incredibly awful for the wait staff.)
SET Solutions NYC is combining this already evolved craft of dining out with theatre. And making it fairly easy for small restaurant businesses to not only jump back into dining services, but helping the theatre industry. A note was made that labor costs are less, and this is a MUCH cheaper way to bring back theatre without breaking anybody’s wallet.
I love this!
Post a Comment