DALLAS (1080 KRLD) - The traditional Mothers Day brunch is going to be different this year due to the coronavirus.
Many restaurants are still closed. Ones that are open have to operate under guidelines established when Governor Greg Abbott announced his plan to reopen the state. That means 25 percent capacity.
“It is going to be a very strange Mother’s Day for a lot of us” said Dallas restaurant legend Dean Fearing. “It is that big day out of the year. And it is a going to brunch Sunday meal. It’s one of the biggest of all the year. We usually do 600 people or more, which we’re not going to do this year because we’re closed. And that is going to be very very strange.”
Opening a restaurant in these times can be a double edge sword. On the one hand the staff is finally up and running. But on the other the profit margin is razor thin. Many restaurants count on Mothers Day to make a sizable part of the month’s profit.
Compounding the problems are people who wait in line. Fearing says many restaurants are only taking reservations to prevent lines that may stretch off their property, for hours.
The other side of the equation is travel. Who is coming to see mom?
Neither American Airlines will comment on travel bookings but both suggest they are not noticing an increase in travelers for the weekend.
Fearing says it’s critical to get planes in the air and hotels filled with business travelers because they are the bread and butter of the restaurant industry.