Restaurants seek to celebrate special week
Some county restaurants will offer special meals next week in recognition of the Butler County Tourism and Convention Bureau's Restaurant Week, but most are pleased to be open for business despite difficulties in staffing and deliveries.
Anna Marie's Winery and Cafe in East Butler will have dine-in only specials on the menu for Restaurant Week, which runs from Sept. 13 to 19.
“We're excited to be part of it,” said Jodie Stocks, winemaker and one of the managers at Anna Marie's. “We're offering a couple unique items for our menu along with our regular items.”
She said the premise behind Restaurant Week is to draw customers to restaurants that are struggling through the COVID-19 pandemic.
The specials include seafood au gratin and scallops, shrimp and crab meat in Alfredo sauce. Reservations are recommended, but not required, Stocks said.
She said she appreciates the bureau's efforts to help restaurants.
“They understand a lot of businesses were not open,” Stocks said. “The impact COVID has had on hospitality has been overwhelming. We were fortunate to have takeout.”
During pandemic
Anna Marie's food and wine takeout service, especially family-to-go-boxes with enough food for a meal for a family of four, enabled the restaurant to operate during the pandemic shutdown and remains popular.
“That has been unbelievable. It's been very popular,” Stocks said. “We've done very well with the family boxes.”
Since the restaurant resumed indoor business, many customers have opted to have their meals in the outdoor pavilion, she said.
“When we first reopened, one of the best feelings was to hear noise; just to have the background noise of people talking,” she said. “People got to dress up and go out and have a glass of wine, listen to music. We're all about our customers, and it's nice to see those people again.”
She said customers have come to celebrate several occasions at the same time because they weren't able to celebrate any of them last year.
The restaurant has been “stretched thin staffing-wise,” since reopening, Stocks said.
However, a shortage of kitchen staff and waitstaff combined with hiccups in deliveries has created some challenges, she said.
“We love seeing everybody, but we need a little patience,” Stocks said.
Find, retain employeesShe said it is difficult for a small, family-owned restaurant to compete for employees with larger, corporate-owned restaurants, but it is trying to find and retain employees.Joe Walsh, owner of the Firehouse Subs in Cranberry Township, had similar thoughts.“The restaurant has been doing pretty good,” he said. “It's really hard to find people to work.”Third-party meal purchases made through Grubhub and Uber Eats have greatly helped the business, Walsh said.He said deliveries of food and supplies are no longer a problem like they were earlier during the pandemic. One of the benefits of being part of a large chain of restaurants is purchases are made in large quantities.The restaurant isn't offering any specials during Restaurant Week, but participates in events and activities that benefit local organizations and charities, he said.The shortage of employees has caused some minor delays in filling customer orders, he said.“We ask patience for quality,” Walsh said.
Need more cooksThe G.O.A.T. Sports Bar in Seven Fields, which opened in April, isn't offering any Restaurant Week specials, but is experiencing good business despite needing more cooks, said Justin Burrus, assistant general manager.“Things have been going well,” Burrus said. “People have been enjoying it.”The restaurant is open seven days a week and hosts a ladies night, trivia night and karaoke night every week.“We've been steady, but trying to find good cooks has been hard,” Burrus said.He said hiring waitstaff hasn't been as challenging. To help with the latter, the restaurant is offering $18 an hour pay for experienced cooks and $15 an hour for those with no experience. Inexperienced cooks can make $18 an hour after 90 days if they receive a good evaluation, he said.City chicken will be the special during Restaurant Week at the Hotel Saxonburg in Saxonburg, said owner Judy Ferree.“I'm really looking forward to it,” Ferree said.Restaurant Week comes after the restaurant held an Octoberfest this weekend.
Fill vacanciesThe Hotel Saxonburg has been busy and recently hired about a half-dozen people to fill vacancies, she said.“We seem to be doing really well. We're busy,” Ferree said. “More people are coming in more often; local people maybe staying local, being supportive. We're starting to book rehearsal dinners and Christmas dinners.”Many customers chose to dine in the outdoor patio and takeout orders have become popular, she said.“We're definitely doing more takeout than we used to,” she added.Hotel room booking is also beginning to increase, she said.Deliveries have been a problem.“It's hard getting food and supplies, but it's exciting for us because we're busy,” she said. “We're grateful because others aren't doing so well.”
