Gastronomy and Hospitality Studies in Tourism

Eating Out and Restaurant Management

Eating out is when individuals consume food produced in a food and beverage establishment outside their homes for a fee (Özdemir, 2010; Warde & Martens, 2003). In this sense, there are many eating out events; Examples can be multiplied such as eating a packet of chips or fish and chips on the street, eating a sandwich at the office, having a barbecue at a friend’s house and an elaborate dinner at a restaurant, a take-out pizza or a made pizza (Warde & Martens, 2003).

The habit of eating out begins with the houses in the historical Ancient Greece where the passengers stayed and ate at night (Genç, 2009). The city of Pompeii during the Roman period can be shown as the place where the first examples of restaurant and bar culture were common. It is known that Via dell’Abbondanza street, one of the Fifth Avenues of the ancient world, was full of popular eating and drinking places visited by the rich and the poor, and even Emperor Nero frequently visited such taverns. Archaeologists excavating at Pompeii have identified around 160 properties that appear to be bars and restaurants, as well as numerous hotels (Sitwell, 2020).

The phenomenon of eating out in Turkish culture first appears in the soup kitchens in Bektashi and Mevlevi lodges, and as food and beverage services in the Ottoman Palace Organization and Janissaries (Türksoy, 2002).

In the last period of the Ottoman Empire, interaction with Western cultures increased. Chefs specializing in European cuisine were brought in. Some of the palace and mansion cooks opened restaurants in the city and joined the chain of Esnaf Restaurants. The first foundations of modern restaurant management, especially It is thought that he came to life after the Constitutional Monarchy (II) (Doğdubay, 2000).

Many types of organizations provide food in a wide variety of forms. Restaurants, bistros and cafes specialize in providing food. But for others, food isn’t the only service or product—hotels, public houses, hospitals, and highway service stations are only partially concerned with food. In addition, catering industries include businesses whose purpose is not to provide on-site catering (Warde & Lydia Martens, 2003).

Restaurants also have indirect and direct effects on tourism. Especially restaurants serving local food have been a center of attraction for tourists. Ethnic and regional food restaurants have become popular with the increasing interest in natural foods. 70 % of the tourists who make their travels for gastronomic purposes taste the local products in the region they visit (April, 2018).

Attitudes of Consumers towards Restaurants During Covid-19

The pandemic has caused the hospitality industry to experience great difficulties (Gursoy & Chi, 2020). The hospitality and tourism industries are the most vulnerable to extraordinary situations such as natural disasters and epidemics. Unfortunately, this often results in significant financial losses (Kim, Kim, Lee & Tang, 2020).

That is, the association of the first COVID-19 viral spread with a food market is one of the factors (Chen et al., 2020). Strategies developed to curb the progression of COVID-19 have resulted in the temporary closure of many hospitality businesses. Quarantine and isolation, social distancing practices and travel restrictions have caused a serious decrease in the demand for accommodation businesses (Gursoy & Chi, 2020). In some countries, restaurants have closed completely, while in some countries they have switched to take-out/delivery sales, and some have been allowed to continue their operations (Gössling, Scott & Hall, 2020).

Immediate effects have now become more pronounced and are subsequently reflected in disrupted cash flows caused by sudden closures. Such closures, albeit temporary, have jeopardized the business life of many hospitality businesses by reducing revenues and fragmenting long-established supply chains (Nicola et al., 2020). This has resulted in a permanent loss of tourism revenue, as unsold capacity in the tourism sector – for example in accommodation – could not be marketed in subsequent years (Gössling, Scott & Hall, 2020).

In fact, during the pandemic period, customers still do not feel safe to dine at a restaurant. The same is true of traveling to a destination and staying in a hotel. The issue of crisis management has a special importance for the hospitality industry. Because, as in other service industries, the breaking point in the hospitality industry is relatively high. Namely, hospitality businesses can only survive depending on the increase in demand for their products. The fact that the COVID-19 epidemic has reduced the demand for accommodation services has made it difficult for accommodation businesses to survive. That’s why it’s so important to develop strategies for what will keep customers coming back. In addition, this subject requires intensive research efforts. Both businesses and academia urgently need marketing and management research to guide their hospitality operations during the COVID-19 pandemic (Gürsoy & Çi, 2020).

Online reviews remain important as they help customers make safe eating decisions during the COVID-19 pandemic (Luo & Xu, 2021). Luo and Xu (2021) drew attention to the impact of online reviews on customers’ decision-making processes and product sales.

In their study aimed at measuring the impact of online restaurant menus on consumers’ purchase intentions during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Stimulus-Organism-Response model was developed to predict participants’ purchase intentions in the context of an online food ordering. According to the results of the research, the visual appeal and informativeness of the menu and the risk perception of COVID-19 have indirect effects on consumer purchase intentions. This causal relationship was mediated by consumers’ perceived comfort in food cravings and online food ordering (Brewer & Sebby, 2021). In addition, consumers tended to avoid other people in public places. In terms of service, consumers are also reluctant to visit restaurants and bars. Therefore, under these circumstances, it is important to consider several factors that may reinstate consumers’ intention to visit restaurants (Kim & Lee, 2020).

In the research measuring the risk perceptions of consumers about restaurant food and packaging during the pandemic, it was revealed that consumers perceive more risk from the food served in restaurants compared to general food, and they think that cold and raw food will transmit more covid-19 (Byrd, Her, Fan, Almanza, Liu & Leitch, 2021).

According to researchers, consumers find home-made meals safer than meals in restaurants, even outside the pandemic period (Young & Waddell, 2016). While consumers are not so concerned about contracting the COVID-19 virus from the food they prepare at home, they are more concerned about contracting the virus from the food served in restaurants.

In terms of operation, restaurants may have to make adjustments to their menus during extraordinary times such as pandemics. They may also need to re-evaluate their distribution options. Namely, research results show that consumers are less confident in foods that are served raw, cold or uncooked. For this reason, it would be good to redesign the menus by removing these foods from the menus if possible or reducing their number. While making these changes, sales and consumer attitudes need to be closely monitored (Byrd, Her, Fan, Almanza, Liu & Leitch, 2021).

During the epidemic, many academic studies have been conducted on the economic conditions of restaurants and consumers’ attitudes towards restaurants. Compilations from the studies conducted are presented in Table 1.