'Restaurants on the Edge' co-host Nick Liberato talks keeping the restaurant business alive during pandemic

May 20, 2020May 20, 2020 The Big Kahuna

Netflix(NEW YORK) — Adapt and survive: that’s the word from Nick Liberato, chef, restaurateur, and Top Chef and Bar Rescue veteran to restaurant owners struggling during the COVID-19 crisis.

With millions stuck at home ordering take out, Liberato is offering some escape, with his show Restaurants on the Edge.

The Netflix series has Liberato and his crew visiting restaurants in stunning locations throughout the world, but with one common theme: their menus and decor pale in comparison to their locations. Part travelogue, part cooking show and part renovation show, the series’ new second season just dropped on the streaming service.

With restaurants struggling amid the COVID-19 crisis, Liberato told ABC Audio in order to survive, what restaurateurs “need to be able to do is create the best experience you possibly can for when the guest is there. Whether you’re wearing a mask and have, sanitizing stations and…paperless menus and cashless transactions, you just gotta do what you’ve got to do in order to bring the money in and to get people back to their somewhat normal lives.”

Liberato adds, “You know, the restaurant business has always been a crazy business…[Y]ou have to be able to keep up a consistent experience that you’re giving your guests.”

He explains, “We really need to stay focused on being the best we could possibly be in this time. So that…we’re going to be able to come out of this with our businesses being more sustainable than they were before. And stronger.”

Liberato advises owners, “Use your time wisely. Be creative. Have fun….[E]ventually, we’ll get back to our old lives and we’ll and we’ll be a renaissance. We’ll have our own Roaring 20s here. And I truly believe we have some really good times ahead.”