Restaurants Gear Up For Mother's Day Rush While Many Still In Need Of More Staff
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Restaurants are gearing up for the Mother's Day rush. Meanwhile, some spots say they're still in desperate need of help.
Workers are already at Parc restaurant in Rittenhouse preparing for breakfast and brunch. Many restaurants may be hit with a double punch on Sunday. Not only will they be busier than they've been in a very long time but many are serving tables with fewer employees.
CBS News is reporting restaurants are still 1.7 million jobs below where they were pre-pandemic. The National Restaurant Association is reporting half of the country's restaurants say their staffing is down 20%. Meanwhile, capacity is going up. Last week across our region, capacity levels were lifted.
In Philadelphia, indoor dining capacity can be up to 75% if restaurants meet enhanced ventilation standards. In the rest of Pennsylvania, as well as in New Jersey and Delaware, all capacity limits were lifted if social distancing can be assured.
Restaurants like The Olde Bar in Old City say they have 300 reservations scheduled for Sunday.
"For us, we're probably about four times as busy as we would normally be. Just for brunch itself. And obviously, if we weren't restricted to the 75% we'd be even busier," Garces Group Culinary Director Nate Johnson said.
While Philadelphia is still operating with restrictions on indoor dining. That could change. Mayor Jim Kenney hinted that he may be lifting some of those restrictions at Tuesday's citywide news conference.