“My restaurants, in particular, and I think most restaurants in the area are in the same position,” said Kevin Wakefield, owner of Grind Gastropub & Kona Tiki Bar, 31 Supper Club and Ormond Garage Brewing on Granada Boulevard in Ormond Beach. “We’re experiencing record numbers in terms of sales and we’re handling it with a fraction of the staff we ordinarily have. We’re down to 60% to 70% of what our staffing ordinarily would be.”
Wakefield expects to be especially busy on Mother’s Day.
His prediction is echoed by national data from industry research firm OpenTable that shows restaurant reservations for Mother’s Day are up 64% compared to 2019.