LOCAL NEWS

“A Hunger For Harrisonburg” by Kathleen Shaw

• For 12 years, there as an annual event has celebrated the culinary craftsmanship of the city and worked to increase the market during off-seasons (Shaw, K., DailyNewsRecord, 2020).
• Previous collaborations include Bella-Luna inspired burger on Cuban Burger’s menu, and a Cuban pizza at Bella Luna (Shaw, K., DailyNewsRecord, 2020).
• Various menu deals for next week: Purchase a full-price pizza, pasta or sandwich meal at Bella Luna, get a free-scoop (Shaw, K., DailyNewsRecord, 2020).

“COVID-19 cases across Virginia hit 6,500, deaths rise to 195” by Caleb Stewart

• As of April 15th, there Virginia Department of Health has received 6,500 positive cases across the Commonwealth of Virginia has been reported for Covid-19 (Stewart, C., WHSV3, 2020).
• As testing capacity increases, so does the amount of positive cases in Virginia (Stewart, C., WHSV3, 2020).
• 101 cases of Covid-19 Harrisonburg (Stewart, C., WHSV3, 2020).

MONITORING SOCIAL MEDIA

INDUSTRY NEWS

Pizza Hut introduces ‘tamper-proof safety seals’ to ensure that customers are ‘first to touch their food’

• “Pizza Hut revealed that it is expanding its contactless curbside pickup option nationwide, allowing customers “a safe, contactless option” for picking up online orders”
• “it will also be applying “tamper-proof safety seals” to its pizza boxes” to make sure “customers are “the first to touch their food” after it’s taken out of the oven”
• Pizza Hut plans to put seals on all food containers and pizza boxes with a company branded tape
• All food delivered or picked up will have these new  ‘tamper-proof safety seals’

Bella Luna could benefit from mimicking Pizza Hut’s new ‘tamper-proof safety seals’ in their restaurant. The safety seal brings another level of sanitation to the food service industry, ensuring customers’ food is protected from outside tampering until delivery. Sanitation and new steps towards social distancing are a current trend with the COVID-19 pandemic. Pizza Hut’s new safety seal will most likely help the already profiting business. Bella Luna could benefit from taking a similar approach and ensuring customers’ food is safely sealed until delivery or picked up. The safety seal lets customers know that their food is being prepared in a mindful and sanitary manner.

Pizzeria’s Give Back Across the Nation

• Several articles covering pizzerias across the nation discuss how local and chain pizza joints are giving back or helping out their community during the COVID-19 pandemic
• In Fort Pierce, Florida Big Apple Pizza and Pasta is doing a “Slice for Seniors” program where “customers can pay $20 to have a pizza delivered to a senior citizen… along with a homemade card created by a school-age child and a T-shirt”
  • They covered over “600 seniors in the first week of the program”
• Little Caesars, a chain pizza restaurant, “announced on April 6 that it will donate and deliver 1 million pizzas to healthcare workers and first responders across the country”
  • On the Little Caesars app customers will have the “opportunity to “Pie it Forward” by donating a pizza to their nearby hospitals, police and fire departments at checkout”
• Little Pops NY Pizzeria “in Naperville, Illinois, has partnered with its customers to keep local healthcare workers, police officers and other first responders fed”
  • “To get pizzas sent to these local heroes, customers make a $10 donation through Little Pops’ online ordering system” your name will then be written on the box and delivered to a local hero 

Many restaurants around the nation are giving back to their community and first responders. Bella Luna could look into creating an option for customers to donate and give back to the first responders of the Harrisonburg community. Either by giving meals to first responders from the Bella Luna Pizza restaurant like pasta and pizzas or pastries and bread from Bella Gelato. It could attract some customers to buy food from Bella Luna and donate to first responders. This would give Bella Luna an opportunity to give back to the community. 

ADVISORY COMMENT

As the Virginia COVID-10 death toll rises, it is essential that Bella Luna assists the Harrisonburg community during these hard times. While other franchise pizzerias have been able to make large donations, Bella Luna is a local restaurant with less resources. We recommend that they implement a student discount for university students who stayed in the area as well as for medical professionals. This would increase sales as well as help customers. They could add an additional 5% discount for those who pick up their meals with gloves and a mask on to promote social distancing.

LOCAL NEWS

“State COVID-19 Cases Rise To 1,484; 10 In Harrisonburg, Nine In Rockingham County” by DN-R News Desk

• The number of COVID-19 cases in Virginia has skyrocketed to 1,484, with 10 cases in Harrisonburg (DN-R NewsDesk, 2020).
• 9 cases follow in Rockingham (DN-R NewsDesk, 2020).
• Frequent hand washing and social distancing are still encouraged to be practiced during this pandemic (DN-R NewsDesk, 2020).
• Depending on age range, cold or flue symptoms may worsen to imitate pneumonia symptoms (DN-R NewsDesk, 2020).

“Here are the restaurants across our area still serving food” by WHSV Newsroom

• On March 23rd, Governor Northam issued closure of all non-essential businesses and continue the social distance policy (WHSVNewsroom, 2020).
• Restaurants have closed their in-room dining option, but are allowing their customers to continue picking food up from outside areas (WHSVNewsroom, 2020).
• Many workers who have lost their jobs during this pandemic, local restaurants have continued to donate towards the pop-up food bank (WHSVNewsroom, 2020).
• There are still many restaurants open, and serving delivery/pickup options in Harrisonburg, VA (WHSVNewsroom, 2020).
• Includes: Bella Luna Wood-Fire Pizza Kitchen, A&A Kabob Grill, A Bowl of Good Cafe, At Thai Restaurant, Arby’s, Benny’s Pizza, Billy Jack’s Shack, etc (WHSVNewsroom, 2020).

MONITORING SOCIAL MEDIA

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INDUSTRY NEWS

Why Pizza Chains Are Weathering The Coronavirus Downturn Better Than Their Restaurant Counterparts

• During the COVID-19 pandemic many smaller restaurants are experiencing a “downturn” in income and are having to look at new marketing tactics
• Many large chain companies have adjusted their marketing strategy during this time towards family meals and meal prep
• While “restaurant brands that have a strong digital infrastructure” look to be in the best position during this crisis
• Digital or mobile services have seen 10 times the usual activity on some platforms, “UberEats has also received up to 10 times its usual restaurant leads” 
• While many companies have had to lay workers off pizza companies have been hiring

Many smaller or independent restaurants have had to lay off employees or “like The Cheesecake Factory announces furloughs” (Kelso, 2020). While pizza companies who have adapted and seen an increase in business thanks to their digital strategy have been able to employ “tens of thousands of new employees” (Kelso, 2020). It would benefit Bella Luna to improve their digital options, which are still fairly new. Using social media during this time to clarify how Bella Luna is operating would benefit them as well. So Bella Luna does not suffer financially during this time it would be in their best interest to make an app or register with 3rd party services like Grubhub or UberEats. 

“Pat a farmer on the back” : Ag industry continues to face tough times with COVID-19

• Farmers who had been waiting for the trade war with China, which started back in 2018 had been waiting for it to “be ironed out” then coronavirus hit
• “Farmers are seeing anywhere from a 10-20% reduction in price-per-pound at auction” in cattle auctions
• “field service agent for Virginia Farm Bureau overseeing Greene, Madison and Orange counties, said school closures have affected farmers”
• Many farmers are suffering during this time and are uncertain on what their situations in the future may look like

Since Bella Luna is a farm to table restaurant they may want to look into how they can help their providers during this time, to insure they’re there in the future. With rising produce prices Bella Luna may have to look into raising their own prices in order to still purchase produce. If Bella Luna can figure out a marketing strategy that benefits them during this time then they may be able to afford higher produce prices in the future and now. 

ADVISORY COMMENT

Bella Luna has implemented curbside pick-up to incorporate social distancing into their business plan. They should also add delivery, which would allow a few more of their employees to continue working as well as encourage people to stay at home. They should emphasize that their restaurant supports local farms who are suffering right now. The need to support local businesses is already being emphasized but we can’t forget about local farms. Since the public cannot easily support farms on their own, they should be encouraged to support them through businesses like Bella Luna rather than ordering pizza from chain restaurants.

LOCAL NEWS

“Top Chef Harrisonburg 2019: Bella Luna Wood-Fired Pizza” by Kyle Rogers

• Blue Ridge CASA for Children hosted a second annual “Top Chef: Harrisonburg” event involving participatory local restaurants (Rogers, K., WHSV3, 2019)
• One of the seven chefs is Brian Bogan from Bella Luna Wood-Fired Pizza (Rogers, K., WHSV3, 2019).
• He won top chef in Harrisonburg last year (Rogers, K., WHSV3, 2019).
• Proceeds and sponsorships will go directly to Blue Ridge CASA (Rogers, K., WHSV3, 2019).
• Bogan says, “I’m always looking for sort of surprised delighted reaction after the first bite” (Rogers, K., WHSV3, 2019).

“Efforts to Emerge To Aid Unemployed Restaurant Workers” by Kathleen Shaw

• Nevin Lough Zehr, a dishwasher and prepcook for Bella Luna Pizza Kitchen, has donated his birthday wish to have a livestream marathon of “Donkey Kong Country 3,” to raise money for unemployed restaurant workers (Shaw, K., DailyNewsRecord, 2020).
• Due to COVID19 and expenses lost of 45 restaurants, two online recourses are being provided to collect donations for displaced restaurant workers (Shaw, K., DailyNewsRecord, 2020).
• The Harrisonburg Culinary District Workers GoFundMe is streaming money to non-profit associations that are collecting money for industry workers who fit the age and economic status of this pandemic (Shaw, K., DailyNewsRecord, 2020).
• As of Tuesday, March 24, over 40 donors have contributed $1,850 to the GoFundMe (Shaw, K., DailyNewsRecord, 2020).
• Jacob Lester started a similar project, the Virtual Tip Jar, on Saturday.
• The virtual tip jar is a Facebook group, one can join, which attaches to PayPal and Venmo accounts.

SOCIAL MEDIA MONITORING

INDUSTRY NEWS

Domino’s launch custom contactless delivery during coronavirus crisis

• With the coronavirus keeping most at home, most food delivery services have been offering contactless pick-up and delivery
• Dominos has taken this a step further and “Customers can indicate where they would prefer their order to be left by a pizza delivery person: whether that’s by the front door, at a reception desk or on a bench. Domino’s also clarified that it will continue to deliver to shelters, hospitals and other healthcare facilities”
• They’re new offer allows pizza to be delivered and left anywhere their customers want, in an attempt to keep the process sanitary 
• Along with this new delivery method Dominos “has also stated that it has  enhanced its cleaning and hygiene practices” 

This new method of delivery and drop off wherever customers want has helped Dominos across the country keep their doors open and pizza’s selling. Bella Luna could benefit from mimicking Domino’s new tactic of drop-off orders. This removes contact between the delivery person and customer. Minimizing the possibility of an employee falling ill or catching the virus. Domino’s has also removed human contact with their pickup system allowing customers to drive up to a store and pick up their meal without going inside. 

Coronavirus: Papa John’s to hire 20,000 because of pizza demand during pandemic

• Papa Johns is hiring 20,000 new employees “as soon as possible, some hiring may be done the same day as the application”
• In a statement from the company “We want to add talented team members to our Papa John’s family across the country to deliver food safely to our customers’ doorsteps. We are in the unique position — as a restaurant that specializes in delivery and carryout — to help our communities through this crisis.”
• Many pizza restaurants across the country that specialize in delivery service are hiring currently to help those who are looking for a source of income, but as well as to meet the demands of their customers

Though Bella Luna does not have the resources, nor the amount of customers Papa John’s has, they should look into hiring some new employees who can deliver food for the restaurant during this time. Many delivery chains are hiring currently to meet rising demands for delivery services, it would benefit Bella Luna to look into a similar tactic. Before this crisis Bella Luna did not offer takeout or delivery but to survive this crisis and make some income it would be in their interest to start. By hiring only a few employees who can deliver food in a sanitary method they may be able to draw in more customers.

ADVISORY COMMENT

Bella Luna should consider offering pizza kits to encourage their customers to stay home, while still allowing their regulars to eat their food and maintain some normalcy. Many businesses have issued a statement regarding COVID-19, Bella Luna should emphasize that they have sanitized their dining area/kitchen, have encouraged employees to stay home if they aren’t feeling well, and have created work stations in the kitchen and pick-up area of the restaurant that are six feet apart. Customers are going to remember how businesses behaved during this pandemic, therefore Bella Luna needs to ensure that they are putting their customers health as their main priority.

Monitoring Period: 

Bella Luna Pizza Kitchen

5OOODIES

LOCAL NEWS

“Local food truck opening storefront in downtown Harrisonburg,” by John Hood

• Mashita will be opening a physical store location off of North Liberty Street. An indoor facility will appeal to more customers in the winter (Hood, J., WHSV3, 2019).
• The truck was awarded “The Best Food Truck in the Shenandoah Region” by Virginia Living Magazine in 2018 and 2017 (Hood, J., WHSV3, 2019).
• The restaurant will take this opportunity to bring about new recipes in order to give a new experience to patrons (Hood, J., WHSV3, 2019).

https://www.whsv.com/content/news/Local-Food-Truck-expanding-to-Downtown-Harrisonburg-506574401.html

This is article is relevant to Bella Luna as it addresses the need for small businesses to expand beyond their current spaces. Although Bella Luna’s location is prime real estate in Downtown Harrisonburg, if and when they outgrow their current space, they might consider a food truck in order to reach a different section of the population. In this article, Mashita purchased a physical space to appeal to customers who dislike the winter weather. Bella Luna could consider a mobile restaurant to reach patrons who would much rather spend all their time outdoors during the spring and summer months.

Local News Section

“Local Chef Invites Community On Food Journey,” by Kathleen Shaw

• Professional chef Adrian Taylor created “Chef’s Hike” to connect with other industry professionals and to provide demonstrations (Shaw, K., WHSV3, 2020).
• A native of the Shenandoah Valley, Taylor views bringing his cooking classes to the area as an opportunity to give back to the community in a creative way (Shaw, K., WHSV3, 2020).
• Parks and Recreation is offering free workshops by Taylor at the Lucy F. Simms Continuing Education Center (Shaw, K., WHSV3, 2020).

This article explores the story of a local chef who views food as more than just something to eat, but as an experience. Bella Luna, too, cherishes all the different facets of enjoying a meal. The public seem interested in learning basic information, as well as industry secrets from Taylor. Ideally, if the chefs at Bella Luna were to offer a similar workshop or cooking class, people from around the local area would come to visit. This would be great promotion for Bella Luna, as well as an opportunity for them to continue to build relationships with its neighbors.

SOCIAL MEDIA MONITORING

INDUSTRY NEWS

Rapid Fired Pizza Adds Meatless Sausage as Another Vegan Option 

• Rapid Fired Pizza is a growing delivery pizza chain, with locations in 7 states, including new locations in North Carolina and West Virginia coming soon
• “Rapid Fired Pizza has introduced their Vegan Pizza just in time for Lent.”
• The restaurant is using vegan dough, “ Follow Your Heart vegan cheese”, and “MorningStar Farms’ meatless sausage rounds” to make their new vegan pizza
• The restaurant has “35 toppings” for pizza or pasta for customers to choose from, and they have a ““No Duh” menu that allows people needing gluten-free options to still be able to enjoy pizza every day”

Rapid Fired Pizza’s new pizza shows their commitment to providing options for customers of all diets. Though the chain pizza restaurant doesn’t directly affect nor compete with Bella Luna (BL) the news of their new pizza impacts the restaurant nonetheless. It is another vegan and vegetarian “meatless” option, similar to “Burke Corporation which is under Hormel Foods… new plant-based meat” discussed in the previous blog post. More plant-based meat options are becoming available and more widely used as well. It may benefit BL to look into using similar products in their food. 

Will the Coronavirus Help Boost Pizza Delivery Sales?

• Many experts are expecting the restaurant delivery service industry to boom during the coronavirus outbreak, because many will be expected to stay home and order food in
• Apps like Grubhub, Postmates are expecting higher user rates during the outbreak
• “The CEO of Zume thinks the growing panic over the coronavirus, could lead to an increased demand for restaurant delivery in the U.S”
• “The restaurant industry continued this week to prepare for dealing with a growing number of coronavirus cases, with at least one executive forecasting a resulting shift toward delivery”
• “Alex Garden, CEO and chairman of Zume Inc.” a pizza chain in California said “while everyone hopes that Covoid-19 will go away, the impact will be likely felt in the restaurant industry… They are being confined to their homes. What do you think will happen to delivery habits if people are confined to their homes for a couple weeks?”

Bella Luna (BL) isn’t available for delivery but may want to look into it in case the coronavirus outbreaks worsens. If many customers don’t leave their homes for possibly days or weeks at a time then BL won’t have many customers if any for a while. They may benefit from looking into a delivery service or using a third party service temporarily. Though the outbreak is not currently serious in the Harrisonburg area, it would benefit BL to have an emergency plan in place in case the situation worsens.

ADVISORY COMMENT

Other restaurants are mixing up their current marketing plans. In order to keep up with competitors, Bella Luna should consider adding something innovative to the menu or emphasizing lesser known aspects of their business. For example, Bella Luna’s food is 100% sourced from local farms. Perhaps having farm “spotlight” profiles on the menu or social media or holding a “meet the farmers” event would bring in more business. They should also consider sponsoring/partnering with a local event. This will allow them to reach customers that they may not usually reach.

Monitoring Period: 2/17/2020-2/20/2020

Bella Luna Pizza Kitchen

5OOODIES

LOCAL NEWS

“Local food movement is growing in The Valley,” by Morgan Donnelly 

• Malcolm, owner of Malcolm’s Market Garden, is teaming up with Local Food Hub to expand business to promote more locally grown food (Donnelly, M., WHSV3, 2017).
• Malcolm has been allowed to sell her produce in chain grocery stores in Washington  D.C., as well as, food that is served at James Madison University (Donnelly, M., WHSV3, 2017).
• Malcolm hopes that, “Students see a difference, and connect that these local farms surrounding their campuses are helping to feed them” (Donnelly, M., WHSV3, 2017).
• Local businesses are growing together with local farmers to create fresh food for the Harrisonburg community (Donnelly, M., WHSV3, 2017). 

https://www.whsv.com/content/news/Local-food-movement-is-growing-in-The-Valley-416178273.html

This article holds relevance, as it promotes the combination of local businesses with local farm’s produce. Bella Luna can be influenced by the decision to have fresher foods served at their restaurant, by teaming up with local farmers from The Valley. This could be an innovative, and lucrative deal for Bella Luna, as both industries would be benefiting one another in this situation. Also, this article writes that fresh food from Malcolm’s market, is being served at James Madison University, which is profitable and encouraging. This can provide inspiration for Bella Luna to potentially serve their food samples at other venues, besides their home restaurant.

“Friendly City Food Co-op To Expand Into Adjacent Building,” by Ian Munro

• Friendly City Food Co-op will expand into a neighboring building (Munro, I., DailyNewsRecord, 2020).
• The additional grocery store will be opening and hiring in March, and will be open for a seasonal 8-month period (Munro, I., DailyNewsRecord, 2020).
• Cooke, the general manager, says, “They’ll be lots more grocery products, more wellness products, more meat — the meat department is definitely expanded” (Munro, I., DailyNewsRecord, 2020). 
• Cooke claims that the changes to The Friendly City Co-op will not affect the character and maintenance of this grocery store (Munro, I., DailyNewsRecord, 2020). 

https://www.dnronline.com/news/local/friendly-city-food-co-op-to-expand-into-adjacent-building/article_f471e874-0147-5b59-9e4b-36a8970a25e1.html

This article holds relevance to Bella Luna, because it brings about awareness to the growth and importance of local farmer’s markets. Friendly City Food Co-op claims that their new grocery store incorporates more meat to their selection, therefore this could provide an opportunity for Bella Luna to purchase their meat toppings from a locally owned grocery store. This pairing could create an economically beneficial relationship with the businesses, as well as, an inclusive culture within the Harrisonburg community. Both industries could potentially combine forces to explore flavor and freshness in downtown Harrisonburg.

SOCIAL MEDIA MONITORING

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INDUSTRY NEWS

Burke Corp. Launches New Plant-Based Alternatives

• Burke Corporation which is under Hormel Foods “an industry leader in foodservice fully cooked meat toppings and ingredients, announced the launch of new Burke™ Alternatives plant-based products available to foodservice operators across the country.”
• They’re new “pea protein” meat options will “include a fully cooked crumble and uncooked ground products with traditional or Italian flavored options”
• The Hormel Food brand is a large distributor and plans on selling this new plant-based meat country wide

This new line of plant-based meats may impact Bella Luna’s future menu and their local competition. With wider availability and affordability of such products Bella Luna may have to adjust or re evaluate how much meat they use. They may also need to look into using plant based meats in their dishes in the future if the public interest and want for such products grows. If other pizza companies and producers start using this vegetarian friendly product it may take many customers away from Bella Luna if they do not offer it as an option.

• https://www.pmq.com/burke-corp-launches-new-plant-based-alternatives/
• https://www.hormelfoods.com/newsroom/press-releases/burke-corporation-launches-new-plant-based-alternatives/

Are States Getting Ready to Crack Down on Third Party Delivery Services? 

• “Several states and municipalities are considering legislation that would impose new regulations on third-party platforms”
• In California currently there is a debate on whether or not third party delivery services such as “Grubhub, Postmates and others to share customer data with the restaurants they order from”
• This is because “restaurant operators often don’t know where the customer is located or how to contact them. This means operators might not know about problems with the orders and can’t follow up to gauge the customer’s satisfaction and the quality of the delivered food.” 
• Many restaurants also who have these third party delivery services never agree to them or use them
• “Food delivery apps take as much as 30 percent of sales from restaurants” in California and other states
• Other states such as “Pennsylvania, New York and Illinois” some laws have already been set up to minimize these negative effects on restaurant owners

Though Bella Luna doesn’t allow or use any third party delivery service many competitors and other restaurants in town do. This may actually benefit Bella Luna if other restaurants stop using such as Postmates, Grubhub, etc. Some future laws may increase the price for such services meaning many might return to restaurants or such apps may not be sustainable or as affordable to use on a daily basis. In a college town where these third party delivery apps are often used this may have a significant impact on who uses them and what restaurants do. If laws are put into place to help or benefit the restaurants Bella Luna may want to look into using these apps then but until then their current business structure of not allowing these apps is most likely beneficial financially.

• https://www.pmq.com/fairfooddeliveryact/
• https://thespoon.tech/rhode-islands-proposed-bill-would-ban-delivery-services-from-listing-non-partnered-restaurants/

Papa John’s Recognized as LGBTQ-Friendly Company

• “The chain scored 90% on the Human Rights Campaign’s annual Corporate Equality Index covering practices related to LGBTQ workplace equality.”
• This is the first year Papa John’s has been ranked on the index but they scored very high on tolerance and equal treatment
• The Corporate Equality Index or CEI ranks  “1,059 U.S.-based companies are promoting LGBTQ-friendly workplace policies” 

Papa John’s is a large competitor of Bella Luna’s in Harrisonburg as a pizza provider, they’re a direct competitor. Anything about them in the news or that affects them affects the pizza industry and market. Though there is nothing that Bella Luna can do about Papa John’s new national recognition as a LGBTQ Friendly, nor should there be anything they do. It may benefit Bella Luna to look into becoming or promoting LGBTQ enviroments as well. Though this news is not likely to affect them significantly or directly it is news in the pizza industry.

• https://www.pmq.com/papa-johns-lgbtq-equality/
• https://www.forbes.com/sites/aliciakelso/2020/02/18/papa-johns-focus-on-company-culture-is-starting-to-pay-off/#17ee0ca52b06

ADVISORY COMMENT: It would be beneficial for Bella Luna to consider emphasizing their “clean-eating behaviors.” Adding a little blurb on the menu about the benefits of eating locally or even having servers emphasize this to tables would be beneficial with the rise of the local food trend in Harrisonburg. On the national level, Bella Luna should consider doing something progressive like incorporating more vegan foods on the menu. This will show that Bella Luna really cares about the planet and healthy eating and that they don’t only do it for a marketing ploy or because it’s easier than using national farms.