By Rob Sussman
Apr 15, 2021 6:24 PM
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) People are getting more comfortable going out to eat in Wisconsin, but that doesn’t mean restaurants are finding it easy to stay staffed.
“It’s like you stand around twiddling your thumbs for a year and then all of a sudden it’s back,” said Troy Metzler. “Kind of like a light switch.”
He isn’t the only one.
Metzler is an owner at Julie’s Cafe on Green Bay’s west side.
Like many local restaurants, he welcomes returning business, although he says it’s been a struggle to hire enough staff.
After a very difficult year, the owner of River’s Bend Supper Club in Howard was thrilled to see the reservations flood in for last week’s Easter brunch.
“We were completely reserved out,” said Steve VandenLangenberg (aka Steve Van). “We missed out on Easter and Mother’s Day last year, the two biggest days of the year for us. It is wonderful. Business has been really good I’m hitting pre-COVID numbers.”
Unlike fast food restaurants, Van said his business was especially challenged when businesses were forced to close.
“The start of the pandemic was scary,” Van said. “We had to close for two months, and although we tried carryout, it isn’t part of my business. The food doesn’t carry as well as fast food. If you get crab legs or lobster and drive home 20 minutes and then set things up, how is it going to taste?”
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Groundhog Club handler John Griffiths holds Punxsutawney Phil. Picture: AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar DO you hear it? That whooshing sound is my sigh of relief. See-ya January. Don t let the door hit you on the way out. It is February 1 tomorrow. Meaning that the most dreary, grey and soul-sapping month of the year is almost over. Ah, but will February be any better? I hear you ask. We are still lumbering on in lockdown limbo. You make a good point. However, February does have Shrove Tuesday. As much as I enjoy a big plate of haggis, neeps and tatties on Burns Night, I relish a towering stack of pancakes even more.