What do customers need to feel comfortable with dining in again?

A greater number of hand sanitizer dispensers as well as visible displays of cleaning will help customers feel comfortable returning to dining rooms amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

That’s according to new data from FoodService Director sister company Technomic, which looked at consumer sentiment around returning for dine-in service around the country and particularly in Georgia, which was the first state to allow for the resumption of on-premise dining.

About 55% of all consumers surveyed expect to see more hand sanitizer dispensers to make them feel “safe and comfortable” inside restaurants, and another 56% said they’d like to see staff “visibly cleaning” high-touch areas.

Also high on the list of diner demands are having all employees wear gloves, seeing fewer tables and providing single-use condiments, utensils and menus.

Even with those protections, 1 in 5 Georgia residents surveyed said they would be avoiding all eateries during the coronavirus crisis.

Before the pandemic, half of all Georgia residents said they frequented restaurants more than once a week. That number dipped to 29% in the midst of the crisis. Nevertheless, about half of Georgians said they were still engaging with restaurants at least once a week even amid the coronavirus.

It might take some time, though, for all consumers to feel fully ready to return to their pre-pandemic behaviors.

About 20% of those surveyed said they would not return to normal activities until a vaccine is approved and the virus is widely contained, and 15% said they wouldn’t resume regular behavior until COVID-19 is completely contained.