An Open Letter to Brunch Sociables and Short-Staffed Restaurants

Dear Restaurants,

If there's one thing this world needs to protect at all costs, it's brunch.

Think about it for a second: without brunch, you wouldn't have the option of eating lunch early or breakfast late, or even a combination of breakfast and lunch within a single order. Chicken and waffles? Yes, please. Breakfast pizza? Absolutely. Most importantly, in case you were unaware, you can't spell brunch without mimosas. I read that on a sidewalk sign once.

Sadly, though, with the current climate of short-staffed restaurants, opening and closing times have shifted drastically. Cooks are being pushed their limits and the servers who do show up are losing their patience. It's a crumbling cookie that's been sitting in a glass of milk for too long; eventually, it's going to fall apart and sink to the bottom. The same goes for any eatery that offers brunch.

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Over the weekend, I went up north to Vermont and one of the small-town restaurants had informed us that brunch was taken off the menu since there weren't enough people to cover the shift. This particular restaurant normally opens later on in the day but opened early on Sundays for brunch.

When does the lack of motivation to want to work stop and when do the stacks of applicants begin? This slippery slope the economy has been dealing with is disappointing, to say the least.

Brunch is the only time I crave mimosas and pancakes simultaneously at 11:30 in the morning. It's the hero that saves the day when you've already wasted it by waking up late or sleeping in. It's the casual excuse to meet with old and new friends mid-Sunday after a tiresome weekend.

The SouthCoast is one of the highest volumes of restaurants per capita I have personally experienced and it's the options that do it for me. One by one, these mom-and-pop shops are going to switch their open signs to closed for good and it's going to be too late to save by the time we realize this.

Perhaps brunch-goers alike will take this message into consideration so that they're not turned away from their favorite spots like I was a few days ago. Disappointment has a name and it's "Sorry, we're closed for brunch."

Your loving friend,

Gazelle