Business View Magazine l January 2023

166 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 9, ISSUE 12 People would get online, order their bottle of wine and their meal kit and it would arrive at their door a couple of days later.” Although the company used its existing restaurants to prepare meal kits when the doors were closed to patrons, it became obvious that a long-term solution would be required. “We didn’t want to lose that revenue stream, and we didn’t want to not be engaged with the online community,” he acknowledges. “So, we decided to find a way to maintain the operation and perhaps open a retail store where people could still purchase online, but pick it up in-store, or have it delivered.” Moving forward, Ascari Hospitality Group is committed to faster fulfillment times for Mercatino, in line with customer expectations. “It’s been more difficult, we’re a small business, and we’ve got several other locations that require lots more attention as well,” Hoque admits. “We try to find a balance by creating a better guest experience.” The current focus is on logistics management, keeping up with demand by staying fully stocked at all times, and getting delivery drivers on the road to get the order to the customer as soon as possible. On the event side, Hoque reports that Ascari Hospitality has far surpassed 2019 numbers, although there is still room to grow. “Corporate clients aren’t really getting back into the office full time, so there’s that corporate luncheon that we haven’t been able to obtain over the last bit. It certainly helped to have the home delivery and the wedding side, as that is starting to grow a little bit more. We’re focusing the rest of this year on fine-tuning those two operations.” In terms of putting on the actual event, the company has been utilizing its existing restaurants as venues when it suits. He shares, “We’ve done several weddings now, at Gare De L’Est, and we continue to operate our restaurants as our personal venues. We also have partners.