ABSTRACT
While the COVID-19 pandemic has a major impact on hospitality establishments today, conscious entrepreneurs have exploited this critical situation to carry out self-revision and examined the opportunities to open new models during or after the multiple shutdowns. The period of recovery after a crisis often shifts in a new direction of operation such as the emergence of a zero-kilometer food strategy and other sustainable approaches in gastronomy and tourism. Our research is based on the benchmarking methodology that is a complex, systematic process including the creation of new standards to improve particular areas. A system of criteria was defined based on the practices, where the criteria could be classified into 3 dimensions: procurement of raw materials and menu items; operation and restaurant design; and local communities and social responsibility. By this research, we aim to outline possible pathways for market operators and hospitality professionals that serve them as a “handhold” during the recovery period after COVID-19.
