COLORADO SPRINGS — As local restaurants continue to rebound now that indoor dining has re-opened, restaurants are encouraging customers to make reservations ahead of time. However, local restaurant owners are saying cancellations or no shows are becoming more common.
Meredith Klube, the business manager at Jack Quinn's Irish Pub, says over the weekend, atleast eight people canceled their reservations last minute or didn't show up at all.
"It's kind of like a kick in the teeth right now when guests make reservations and don't bother to call or show up," said Klube. "The server is standing around waiting and they have an empty table,
and maybe it's one of their four tables that they have that evening."
The pub opened to indoor dining a week ago, and Klube says sales have doubled since they were shut down.
"We're definitely full most nights of the week, so it's been great," said Klube, which is why it's encouraged to reserve a table. "I know they want to support us, I just don't think they realize the impact that it's having."
James Africano, the owner of The Warehouse Restaurant in downtown Colorado Springs, says most of his customers call ahead of time and make a reservation, which account for about 85% to 95% of business.
"It's a lot easier for us to stay within some of those new mandates, to have a name and phone number for every group that has come in," said Africano.
The restaurant will re-open to the public on Friday, January 15, and they're encouraging customers to make a reservation. If it's canceled last minute or customers are a no-show, it places an inconvenience on the staff and business.
"It's really hard.There are a lot of things that we're forecasting with numbers and amount of product that we're preparing, the number of staff that we have in," said Africano. "It could make the difference between breaking even for the day, making a few dollars a day, or losing money."
If plans change or you have to cancel a reservation, restaurant owners encourage you to do so at least a couple hours beforehand.
