New Realities, New Business Practices
What does the restaurant business have to do with knowledge-based distribution? On the surface, probably not much, but great ideas arrive from strange places. I was half asleep sipping coffee when I snapped out of groggy fog while catching some business news. The host was interviewing Zane Tankel, the CEO of Apple-Metro which owns 30 plus Applebee’s in metro New York City. Thanks to DVR, I was able to re-watch the interview a couple of times. I can’t think of an industry harder hit by the coronavirus pandemic than the restaurant industry. I also can’t imagine a worse place to be during this crisis than New York City, yet Mr. Tankel, like most of the distributors I have spoked with, relayed a positive message. Like many distributors, Apple-Metro is preserving cash, but unlike most distributors, the company has dramatically reduced its workforce from 2,600+ down to 84 people. I believe this has more to do with the makeup of the restaurant workforce, where the personnel side con