SCRANTON, Pa. — Love is in the air, and a night on the town is on the menu for many people.
With Valentine's Day falling on a Monday this year, reservations at Sambuca Grille, on Penn Avenue, starts on Friday.
"We are already booked Friday, Saturday, and Monday for the Valentine's Day weekend," said Andrea Silfin, Sambuca Grille.
In a normal year, booked and busy nights are great, but the last few years have been anything but normal.
The pandemic forced many workers to leave the food industry, leaving restaurants with more tables to serve than people to serve them.
Andrea Silfin is a server; she just started.
"I found they were having staffing issues through a third party. I came in and interviewed with the owner Benny. He hired me the next week, and I've been here since," said Silfin.
This is the first Valentine's Day for Catch 21 Seafood and Steak on North Washington Avenue; it opened in June.
Managers say they have who they need to keep up.
"Like many establishments around the area, it's been a little difficult here and there, but we have a great staff here. It's a great team, and we all work together to get the job done," said Michael Gonzalez.
Business owners and employees say the staffing situation has been difficult, but during busy weekends such as this upcoming one, it's an all-hands-on-deck situation.
"We all pull doubles, triples, 17-hour shifts on Saturday and Fridays," said David Wilson, The Backyard Ale House.
For those who consider Super Bowl Sunday a "holiday," the big game falls this weekend, too.
Wilson says they can use more help, especially when you know crowds are possible.
"Uh, we are pretty low on staff, but we are awesome staff. It's going to be another busy weekend like it was last weekend with the ice festival," he said.
Sambuca Grille, Catch 21, and The Backyard Ale House are all hiring for different positions.
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