Megaworld Lifestyle Malls—in partnership with INQUIRER.net—is  launching “Now is a Good Time”, a webinar series that will tackle all concerns about dining out, shopping, and pampering yourself and your pets, even with the pandemic, to help the economy and help workers as well. The series will take audiences deeper into how major brands and companies are addressing the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, getting the message across that now is a good time to visit the malls again, bring back the happy times while keeping everything 100% safe for everybody, and help revive the economy. 

Hosted by Joyce Pring, #NowIsAGoodTime will commence with its first episode entitled “Now is a Good Time to Eat Out and Help Out” on October 16, 2020 at 3:00PM, live via Facebook of Megaworld Lifestyle Malls and its major properties, plus a livestream on Inquirer.net Facebook.

Episode 1 will employ expert analysis and advice from Businesses and Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) and will aim to help business owners in navigating through this global crisis, while helping assure customers of their safety inside the mall, restaurants, and stores.

Evidently, Filipinos share a passion for dining out. Pre-pandemic, we used to debate about which restaurant has the best Crispy Pata, steak, burger, or fried chicken, and celebrated almost all personal milestones and family occasions in restaurants inside the malls. The food service industry has steadily grown with local concepts and popular foreign franchises over the years. However, the aggressive and rapidly developing Covid-19 crisis has altered life as we know it, especially in the dining landscape. Restaurants have suddenly ceased to accept dine-in; some have either closed down or have temporarily made huge paradigm shifts in their dining services in order to pivot through this pandemic and sustain their business.

Recently, the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) has reordered the gradual resumption of dine-in operations, under GCQ, easing the dine-in restrictions in order to reopen the economy. Despite this, people are still apprehensive about eating out and would rather have food delivered at home. But there are some special experiences, especially dining out, that cannot simply be replicated at home. Thus the #NowIsAGoodTime webinar series’ first episode billed “Now is a Good Time to Eat Out and Help Out” will discuss how restaurants are enticing diners to eat out and help boost the restaurant industry. 

While some people are looking forward to the day when they can eat out again, a larger majority are still apprehensive about the idea. What restaurants can do right now is to ensure the safety of their diners and guarantee their clients that they are taking the necessary steps while inviting them to go back to eating out and help improve the economy.  

Invited speaker and guests of “Now is a Good Time to Eat Out and Help Out” webinar include Jean Paul Manuud, President and COO of The Bistro Group; Eric Dee, COO of Foodee Global Concepts; and Raymund Magdaluyo, President of the Red Crab Group. They will address issues and concerns including: safety and sanitation protocols inside the restaurant, kitchen, employees, and what they do before, during, and after diners leave the restaurant. It will also include information about what they do with the data that they obtain from Health Declaration Forms which clients sign before entering the dining area. They will likewise discuss the extra steps they are taking as far as safety for all dining consumers are concerned, such as safe distancing of their personnel, wearing of PPEs of their back-of-the-house staff, intensified quality control, distances between dining tables, the sanitation standards of food preparation, contactless payments, among other things, in accordance with the suggested health and safety protocols from the IATF and the World Health Organization (WHO).

Meanwhile, Graham Coates, First Vice President & Head of the Megaworld Lifestyle Malls, will also join the panel to discuss “Eat Out & Help Out”. Eat Out & Help out is a CSR initiative of Megaworld Lifestyle Malls. It aims to raise awareness towards dining partners as well as provide meals for our modern-day heroes, the frontliners and healthcare workers. To show gratitude and to celebrate the season of giving, Megaworld Lifestyle Malls is inviting its customers to Eat Out & Help Out. With this effort, customers are encouraged to Eat Out in participating establishments and for every P1,000 dine-in spend, Megaworld will be donating a hearty meal to a frontliner from partner hospitals, thus Helping Out both our F&B partners and frontliners. This campaign is slated to commence on October 22, 2020 to December 31, 2020.

It is said that “Food is the new fashion” because in the last few years, food has become the driver that brought people to malls in droves. With #NowIsAGoodTime to Eat and Help Out webinar, Megaworld Lifestyle Malls (in collaboration with Inquirer.net) assures everyone that while the threat is still there, it should not hinder us from adapting and pursuing a normal life while helping our fellowmen and the country. Megaworld Lifestyle Malls believes that #NowIsAGoodTime to bring the good times back, while keeping all aspects 100% safe. They want all diners to know that #NowIsAGoodTime to believe that life goes on and it will be better tomorrow as we start now in rebuilding a new kind of destination for the new normal, post-pandemic world.