Why Restaurants Should Embrace EV Migration, Add Charging Stations

Several states – including California – will stop selling gas-powered vehicles by 2035. The migration to electronic vehicles (EVs) presents a great opportunity for restaurants to attract additional customers, employees, and investors by simply adding charging stations in your parking lots.

If your restaurant isn't yet thinking about your strategy for attracting consumers with electric cars, you should be! Here are some recommendations for restaurants:

Embrace the EV Trend

As more people adopt EVs, consider how consumers' needs will change. Since EVs have a finite battery life, people will need to periodically charge their cars, so offer charging stations and give them a reason to stay while their cars are charging. Food is the best way to do this, so provide delicious food and a comfortable, clean seating area.

Entice Consumers, Employees, and Investors

Increasingly, people (especially millennials) want to associate with brands that support sustainability. In addition to attracting customers and prospects, installing charging stations can attract potential employees, who often prefer to work for an eco-friendly company. This can be a key differentiator for your restaurant during the ongoing labor shortage. Charging stations can also attract investors eager to support sustainable brands.

Understand the Changing Competitive Landscape

Numerous types of businesses are competing for EV traffic – and enticing consumers to come and stay awhile. Restaurants, shopping centers, grocery stores, convenience stores, pharmacies, and even car washes are adding charging centers and giving customers something to do – eat, shop, vacuum their car – while they wait. This is a golden opportunity for restaurants, so consider adding (and proactively promoting!) onsite charging stations.

Elevate Inspections and Audits

Consumers want a clean, safe place to eat (and charge their cars). Therefore, use tech tools to conduct daily inspections, ensure foods are held at proper temps, check cleanliness, etc. Ditch paper systems, which can't validate whether checks occurred, and rely on software for easily accessible inspection records instead. Hire third-party inspectors for external validation. These assessments will identify areas of noncompliance so you can take immediate corrective actions.

Ensure All Suppliers Follow Strict Safety and Quality Protocols

In addition to implementing strict QA programs, monitor your suppliers to be certain they have proper food safety protocols and structured QA programs in place. Use tech tools to organize and manage supplier certifications. Audit suppliers to ensure they're compliant before you work with them (and throughout your collaboration).

Demonstrate Your Commitment to Sustainability

If your restaurant is implementing a sustainability strategy, adding EV charging stations is a smart step to take. Adding charging stations demonstrates to your employees, customers, and potential investors that you're not just “talking the talk,” but you're taking action to promote sustainability and reduce emissions.

Dallas Henderson, a 25-year veteran of the service industry, is an Account Manager at RizePoint. RizePoint is disrupting traditional market software with their innovative, new product platform Ignite^TM Supplier Certification Management, which helps small to medium sized businesses simplify the supplier certification and maintenance process. To discuss RizePoint's solutions, please contact Dallas at dallas.henderson@rizepoint.com.