Local restaurants overcome staffing and supply chain issues to meet the Valentine's Day rush
JACKSON, TN (WNBJ)-
Valentine's day is on Monday, and many are opting to go out this weekend, the question is will local restaurants have the staffing and the supplies to serve the rush?
Local restaurants in West Tennessee are experiencing staffing and supply chain issues but have found ways to adapt for Valentine’s Day weekend.
The Old Town Spaghetti Store in Jackson has struggled with staffing over the last year, but Thomas Baudo says they are prepared for the busy weekend, “We’re doing a little better in that department then we have been maybe a month or two ago, it's not quite back to where we were pre-pandemic but it’s getting better, it seems that people want to get back to work”
Another Jackson restaurant, The Blacksmith says they have gotten lucky when it comes to staffing, "We actually have not been one of those restaurants that’s have had staffing issue, knock on wood it could change, you know the restaurant industry changes day to day it seems, but we’ve been blessed with a lot of good employees,” said general manager Ian Insalaco.
He said they are experiencing a different issue, supply chain. “It always seems like it’s our most popular items, like our johnny cakes is one of the signature items we do, it’s the sweet corn bread and for the last three weeks we haven’t been able to get it.”
Insalaco was excited when they were finally able to get the supplies, they needed for the Valentine's Day rush, “Out of the blue Thursday we were able to get it, so we’ve got it for Valentine's week, but every week it seems like it’s something different that we’re out of.”
The Old Town Spaghetti Store has also dealt with supply chain issues, "We’ve done what we’ve had to by using various suppliers, even amazon. You know surprisingly amazon came through and had things other people didn’t…we should have everything available for valentine’s day,” Baudo said.
Both the Black Smith and the Old Town Spaghetti store have worked hard to navigate the issues they have faced.
They are excited for a busy weekend of serving West Tennesseans.
