Amongst restaurants still operating during this difficult time is Johnny Rockets. As a relatively new actor on the Oslo restaurant scene, having opened its first classic American diner here in 2018, and was in the process of opening a third location at Sandvika Storsenter when the crisis hit. The company has decided to continue on and open this location, noting the importance of keeping the business going and adding more jobs. The restaurant, which was supposed to open March 25, is now finished and will open mid-April. They have had to quickly adopt a takeaway model.
“We take responsibility by staying open during this time of crisis. It is very challenging – we have lost a large part of the turnover and have had to furlough 90% of our employees. We do this to try to save jobs while keeping the wheels running in Norway. Also, because it is important that restaurants can continue to supply food to everyone who is either quarantined or has a home office, and help maintain some aspects of normal life. We want to make our guests feel safe. We have switched up our operations and most of our business is takeout. We also have made deliveries a possibility,” says CEO Jon-Erik Kristiansen. “It’s a tough day at Johnny Rockets, but we will come back even stronger!”