Buy Local
The fact that we have the phrase "Buy Local" tells you we don't do enough of that. Telling people to "Buy Local" is a weak position.It's basically lecturing people and comes across as trying to guilt them into taking personal responsibility for global trends that no one person can possibly fix on their own. It's a good idea and it is rooted in good intentions but "The road to hell is paved with good intentions."
It's better to facilitate buying local than to lecture people to "Buy Local."
If you want people to buy local, put together information sources on where to buy local, what the advantages are to buying those specific things that are available locally and don't get all judgy and high-handed about it. Don't try to act like "It's BETTER to buy local. My mind is made up. Don't confuse me with the facts!"
For example, food grown and sold locally is likely to be fresher than food shipped in from elsewhere. And it may cost less while being better quality, though the catch may be that you only get it once a week at the local farmer's market or some such.
Walk-up Windows
When I was a kid, eateries with walk-up windows were much more common than they are today. Now, we have drive-throughs and sometimes they don't want people walking through their drive through, even though the drive through may be the only thing open.So we are treating people without cars as second-class citizens, among other things.
With The Global Pandemic of Covid-19 never really ending and establishing "The New Normal", take-out has become more popular and dining out at restaurants less popular. People still want restaurant food but people are most likely to grab it and go rather than sit down and eat it there.
Little Caesar's is already a take-out business model. They were well-positioned to do well when the Pandemic hit AND they have a pizza portal where you can theoretically order online, walk in and punch in a code (or scan a QR code) and get your food without ever directly interacting with anyone.
I love it BUT:
- The online ordering doesn't allow you to leave notes, which means you will be interacting with staff if you need anything like condiments or napkins.
- You still have to go in the same entrance as everyone else, which means you may be exposed to myriad other people and their coughing and sniffling in spite of picking up your food "no contact."
- As far as I know, it's ONLY available at Little Caesar's and no other establishment has anything similar
A food portal for non-pizza businesses would likely need to be designed differently AND food containers that are safe for keeping in a warming oven would have to become a standard part of the business.
As a guess, oriental restaurants that already use square cardboard Asian-style food containers would have the easiest time making this transition and could be targetted as potential early adopters if anyone wanted to develop the technology and run with this as a business idea.