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Brand Profile - Supporting the Industry, Constellation Brands
By Terri Marshall
As COVID spread across the world in early 2020, lockdowns dealt an unprecedented blow to the hospitality and restaurant industry. From business owners to chefs to bartenders, everyone felt the impact as restaurants closed for weeks, and millions of workers lost their jobs.
Creativity emerged over time, with eateries offering expanded outdoor seating and extended take-out menu options. Taking a cue from cities like New Orleans and Key West, to-go cocktails became a favorite happy hour substitute in urban areas of 39 states plus the District of Columbia. Despite these efforts, restaurants still haven’t recovered. According to the National Restaurant Association, in the first 13 months of the pandemic, restaurant and foodservice sales were down $290 billion from pre-pandemic levels.
-AMY MARTIN
While restaurants will eventually recover, the study reported 90,000 restaurants as closed permanently or long-term. Surprisingly most of these businesses were wellestablished, having been in business an average of 16 years.
RECOVERY EFFORTS A devastating blow of this magnitude requires extensive recovery efforts. With the restaurant and spirits industry being mutually dependent, joining forces for a strong recovery makes perfect sense. To build back stronger, Constellation Brands, a leading beverage alcohol company—in partnership with several of its iconic beer, wine, and spirits brands—recently announced a collective commitment of $1.75 million to support the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF) and the launch of its “Restaurants Advance” campaign. This multiyear commitment aims to rebuild the restaurant industry, creating opportunities for restaurant workers across the country.
“Local businesses and especially restaurants are cornerstones of our communities and play a vital role in connecting our consumers with the brands they love. The impact of COVID-19 on the restaurant industry will continue to unfold for years to come. Still, we believe the opportunity to rebuild starts with the people who serve as its backbone,” explains Amy Martin, Vice President, Corporate Reputation & Corporate Social Responsibility. “Through our partnership with the NRAEF, our hope is to help infuse the industry with talented and diverse individuals to position it for future growth and to help bring financial security through these employment opportunities to the thousands who have been impacted financially by the pandemic. We are committed to doing our part to support them and the industry over the long term.”
Founded in 1987, NRAEF—the non-profit arm of the National Restaurant Association—remains committed to providing people from all backgrounds the support they need to build pathways to meaningful jobs and careers in the restaurant and foodservice industry.
“Constellation Brands stepped up at the onset of the pandemic and helped us provide much-needed assistance for restaurant workers through our Restaurant Employee Relief Fund, and we are thrilled to have their support once more,” says Rob Gifford, president of the NRAEF.
A RECORD OF SUPPORT Constellations Brands, including favorites like Corona, Modelo, Robert Mondavi, Kim Crawford, SVEDKA Vodka, and others, exhibit a track record of support for the industry. At the onset of the pandemic, Constellation Brands contributed $1.5 million to the NRAEF Employee Relief Fund. Through this initiative, 43,000 restaurant workers were approved for $500 grants. In addition to the brand donations, the organization established the Constellation Brands COVID-19 Crisis Relief Fund. This matched contributions from employees 2:1 and provided additional contributions of more than $360,000 to non-profit organizations, further helping additional communities impacted by this crisis.
TODAY’S FOCUS The collaboration of Constellation Brands and NRAEF promises to deliver benefits for a community that embraces success. One hundred percent of every dollar donated to Restaurants Advance goes directly to support the mission of the NRAEF. Thus, the mission will be accomplished by enhancing the industry’s training, education, and career development resources, offering free training to restaurant operators and their employees, breaking down barriers to advancement for underrepresented minorities, and creating pathways to restaurant ownership.
“While the pandemic has caused historic pain for restaurants and restaurant workers, it has raised the public consciousness for just how important this industry is to the health and well-being of our society. What we do now will shape the industry’s future and the lives of millions of people for years to come.
We are grateful for the strong support of Constellation Brands as we lead this vital industry and its workforce into a new era of hope and opportunity,” says Gifford.
