SOUTH HAVEN, Mich. — Last summer, Clementine’s was so short-staffed that they had to close one day a week to give their workers some rest. It was a byproduct of the pandemic and COVID restrictions that many restaurants battled, said manager Tammy Gleeson.
“When you don’t have the staff, or when your staff is working at 60 and 70 hours a week, it just doesn’t work out,” Gleeson said. “They’re not happy. Everyone’s short-tempered. Everybody needs a break.”
Now, this summer, they’re getting that break. Clementine’s is back to being open seven days a week, and the restaurant is seating at 80 percent capacity, she said.
More importantly, she said they're almost fully staffed and workers get two days off a week.
One year ago, Clementines was so short-staffed that they had to close one day a week to give their workers some rest.
— Lauren Edwards (@LaurenEdwardsTV) July 6, 2023
Now, they’re almost fully staffed and back to being open 7 days a week … thanks to the hot sun, Lake Michigan and the absence of COVID restrictions. // @FOX17 pic.twitter.com/QXAVf1ZsfW
“It’s really nice just to get back to what we consider our normal,” Gleeson said. “And, I think this is probably as close to normal as we’re going to get for quite some time.”
Kathy Wagaman, executive director of the South Haven Area Chamber of Commerce, said many of the restaurants are bouncing back like Clementine's.
“I think the state as a whole is back to about 75 percent of pre-COVID numbers,” Wagaman said. “But, I think here in South Haven we’ve exceeded that significantly.”
Wagaman said the chamber represents 29 restaurants and she’s witnessed them struggle with short staffs and high inflation.
However, she said they were innovative and creative about how to stay afloat. Some raised their prices and became “very customer-centric” and focused on the dining experience.
“What we’re seeing right now is a continued growth,”Wagaman said. “Now they’ve come through this difficult time and, they’ve had to change a lot of their strategy. They’ve had to change their business model. And, those who have done that have done very well and will continue to grow once again.”
According to the state of Michigan, thousands of restaurants closed due to pandemic-related challenges, and some haven’t rebounded.
FOX 17 spoke with one restaurant who said they did not want to go on camera but that they're staffing shortage is severe.
However, Wagaman doesn’t recall any restaurant closing. In fact, they’ve grown.
“You know what, we’re busy,” said Meredith Sherrod about her restaurant The Lodge on Blue Star Highway. “My business partner and I, Erica, have worked in this town our whole career and we knew there was a need for a restaurant like this. COVID helped us. We purchased the building two weeks before the pandemic.”
She said they’ve been busy ever since. They even won Best New Business of 2022 by Market Van Buren.
“I definitely think the amount of tourists in town has increased since the pandemic, which is a beautiful thing for all the restaurants,” Sherrod said.
Gleeson added that the summer months are the busiest and most profitable time for restaurants in South Haven, considering they’re near Lake Michigan. At Clementines, their sales triple.
However, she’s happy to see her restaurant buzzing again and grateful to give her staff days off to rest.
“Now, come August, and we lose quite a number of college students, September and October have become great vacation months,” Gleeson said. “So we’re still very busy. Then that’s when we might have some struggle. But, we all man up and we make it through.”
