These days, I think it’s safe to say that the American diet has changed. With sit-down restaurants closed due to COVID-19 pandemic, for better or worse, carry-out venues and drive-thru windows have probably become mainstays in many people’s daily eating habits. But traditional brick and mortar locations are hurting. The revenue models that restaurants’ are built around can’t support the new carry-out only way of doing business. Buildings, rent, electricity, and wait staff cost money – a huge amount of money – and a handful of brown-bag orders going out the door every hour just won’t keep a once thriving sit-down establishment in business.

David Bailey knows this. As the co-founder of two very successful restaurant chains that were originally started in Fayetteville, West Virginia, the Secret Sandwich Society and Pies& Pints, David has years of experience starting and growing food establishments that redefine the culinary tastes of towns and cities around the eastern part of the United States. After selling most of his share in the Pies & Pints chain, he and his wife moved to Richmond, Virginia and started their second Secret Sandwich Society downtown in the heart of the city. Together with investors, they built out a beautiful brick and mortar space that, before the pandemic hit, was doing more than $2,000,000 in business and was projected to hit close to $3 million in 2020. But the Richmond Secret Sandwich Society wasn’t built to be a take-out restaurant. And David had to make the decision to temporarily close his doors and wait things out.

This past Monday, David spoke with our students about his history in the business, the current challenges he and his employees are facing, and has some great recommendations for those innovation builders who want to start their own restaurants businesses.

Here’s what he had to say….