Ready.Set.Fresh.

The aspect of time and even more, the timing, has been shown to be one of the key factors to crafting a great experience. Ancient Greeks even had different names for these: Chronos, for linear time and Kairos, for the opportune time.

Aside from our homes as the first place, and our workplace as the second place, it becomes clear why the third place such as our cafes, parks, community centres, places of worship, barbershops, libraries, and of course diners, is essential for our personal and societal wellbeing.

In the midst of the current health crises, we still can't fully articulate our growing "discomfort in the comfort of our homes", whatever that is. We know it is our contribution to protect ourselves and our communities from spreading the virus. However, it is evident that as soon as we are given the green light to resume our normal lives, we will all rush back to the restaurants and cafes as our "third places", since our humanity literally depends on it.

Every event that happens in the world leaves some kind of echo on us. Experience is nothing more than the subjective impression of that event(s). I will experience the same set of events very different than my kid because our contexts are very different, which tells us how intrinsically personal the experiences are. They are also unique.

This new reality also amplifies flaws in the full-service restaurant operating models. The operations are run on a very thin margin 4-5%, 10% is a jack pot, and not having much wiggle room for innovation, they keep on going with their regular modes, until the next jolt from somewhere happens.