The Q1 survey found nearly one in two diners cited a desire to support local eateries as a factor in continuing delivery and takeout habits. Oh, I can order from MacвЂ™s now? ThatвЂ™s definitely where IвЂ™m going.вЂќД®commerce and marketing platform BentoBox recently released its first вЂњRestaurant Delivery Consumer Trend Report,вЂќ something it plans to do quarterly throughout the year. вЂњSo there was a little bit of a natural inclination once we were on those platforms. вЂњThey knew they wanted us,вЂќ Skipper says. Perhaps more importantly, though, people were already looking for MacвЂ™s. If you pull it up now, the first prompt is to start an online order. And MacвЂ™s just launched a new website in February. It made sure guests, through social, web carousels, and pop-ups, got the message. Since MacвЂ™s was new to the third-party space, it was able to leverage incentives as a fresh client to climb the list. Getting the word out to guests happened quickly, Skipper says. The brand partnered with a third-party tech company to keep servers from ringing in delivery orders as well. Within a month, it rolled a new point-of-sale system (Toast) that erased the holes in off-premises execution.

In seven days, MacвЂ™s identified and linked with multiple aggregators. Naturally, efficiency concerns were going to flare up in a world without dine-in business. To-go orders flowed in, with a server or bartender plugging them into the system before they shot off to the kitchen.ДЇor delivery, a notification popped up on a tablet, and somebody rang it into the system. It fell into the so-labeled вЂњtablet hellвЂќ camp. вЂњBut the more we heard about coronavirus, the more we started to realize as an organization, hey, weвЂ™re going to need to move faster on this,вЂќ he says. So itвЂ™s something Skipper was working on before COVID. MacвЂ™s hadnвЂ™t partnered with a delivery platform. Simply, people had more than one reason to show up to eat. While barbecue is one of those categories that travels better than most, and definitely doesnвЂ™t shy away from bulk, MacвЂ™s is an ambiance-driven concept thatвЂ™s as much about beer and live music as it is food. And truthfully, it probably didnвЂ™t need to just yet.

The chain, started famously in a former transmission shop, didnвЂ™t have a solid model. One of the early day tasks for Skipper was to look at MacвЂ™s to-go operations. He was about two months on the job at MacвЂ™s when the pandemic arrived.Д«ut the brand heard rumblings before. Skipper most recently served as multiconcept brand leader for LMR LLC, a hospitality management company based in Raleigh. вЂњAnd this is one of those times where we got that chance to do so.вЂќ

вЂњYou never get that chance in life, really,вЂќ he adds. вЂњWhat have we done really well for the last 15 years? What do we need to do better? really gave us a time to do a bit of a reset,вЂќ Skipper says. Ahead of new unit growth, introspection was on deck. Amid the intrepid challenges and stream of setbacks, Lee called 2020 the chance вЂњa lot of us had been waiting for.вЂќДЄt MacвЂ™s, an eight-unit barbecue brand out of Charlotte, North Carolina, which also oversees SouthBound, The Backstage Lounge, and The Music Yard, there were things that needed to change. This is something Darden CEO Gene Lee referenced back in June. вЂњThe pandemic, in some ways, helped MacвЂ™s.вЂќ вЂњIвЂ™ll be frank,вЂќ says Skipper, a former VP of operations at Del FriscoвЂ™s Restaurant Group who joined the brand in January 2020. More than a year removed from dining-room closures and the COVID-19 chaos that followed, the pandemic cleared perspective for the barbecue concept. Company president Shang Skipper and MacвЂ™s Speed Shop have had a chance to catch their breath.

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