Hi Square Sellers! In this week's interview, Maggie Spicer and Michael Molesky, co-owners of Douglas, discuss their innovative pre-order meal program and the symbiotic relationship available between restaurants and the modern neighborhood corner store.
Tell us about your business.
We opened Douglas in Noe Valley just over 2 years ago. We have diverse backgrounds (marketing, food + travel editors, software) but we had thought a lot about what makes a great local business. We stumbled on the site of our shop which had been closed for several years.
We took the original corner store form factor and integrated a wine bar, mini coffee bar, and grocery. We brought in two large community tables, added some bar and outdoor seating. We set out to create a neighborhood spot that offered something delicious for any time of day with a warm sense of hospitality.
How have you adapted to the Covid-19 crisis?
We converted to what we call full-service grocery. All the items are pushed to the front of the store. We serve one person at a time as they stand in the front with proper social distancing, they point out what they want and we pack it up for them so it’s contactless.
Three days after the shelter in place guidance, we put up a Square Online Store. We also bought an electric cargo bike from a local shop so we could deliver within the neighborhood. The online shop is selling prepared meals and meal kits from our favorite restaurants as well as our grocery items, wine and sake.
Tell us more about your pre-order restaurant program.
When the mandate was announced, we thought about all the restaurants that would be affected. We thought of our chef friends and it was just heartbreaking. We’re always looking to connect the dots and as operators of a business category considered essential we knew we could be a viable, safe drop off point and consolidated hub for our neighbors and customers.
When local Japanese restaurant Rintaro launched a Bento Hotline, we thought it was genius. We said to ourselves, ‘how could we help them serve more covers?’ We knew if they could maintain enough volume, they could retain more of their staff and suppliers. Spring is an essential time to not disrupt the local farmers’ supply chain. That’s where it started, we now have 12 restaurant partners. These meals are all pre-ordered the day before and not available through delivery service apps. Demand has been really strong.
Tell us about the logistics.
For customers, there is a noon pick-up time for lunch and a 5:30pm pick-up for dinner at the store. Most of the restaurants drop off the meals. There’s one or two we pick-up from like Delfina, where we request par-baked pizzas so that guests can finish baking them to their liking in the comfort of their own home. They sell out very quickly.
Which meals work the best?
We’re in a constant feedback loop with the chefs and restaurants for what formats and dishes work. We’re discovering there is a new middle way. Most of the meals are designed for a quick reheat. It’s not Blue Apron and it’s not a delivery service where meals often die in the to-go box. A lot of the meal kit business has become more about styrofoam and FedEx and ice packs and a ton of packaging, the food has moved to the background in that model. But there is a structural, fundamentally different, hyper local approach available that we’re exploring. These meals from best in class chefs create really developed, transporting flavor.
Future of Restaurants
Dining rooms will need to spread out, have half as many seats perhaps. Curbside pick-up and delivery is here to stay, the ROI far surpasses the additional labor required to keep this component active and there are benefits to having a higher labor force, it gives you more scheduling flexibility and coverage for an outage.
These meals fill a really helpful niche. Many of our customers are families and they don’t always have the time. They may be meal prepping on Sundays for the week but at day 3 or 4 are often eating the same dish, they need a break. They want something familiar from restaurants.
Future of Small Grocers
Groceries have taken on a more important role than before. There is going to be a really symbiotic relationship between grocery stores and restaurants. Grocery stores really benefit from the approach hospitality knows so well including concentrating on the guest experience. Stores like ours can be a hub to help drive restaurant revenue long term. We can work together to support each other. We’re also encouraging restaurants to launch their own pantry line. They can integrate producing staples that customers want and not just meals. We’re perfectly positioned to help get these to our customers without all the hassles and obstacles of trying to get into large grocery chains.
Thank you Maggie + Michael! Great to chat.
