Weekend update: Easter

Gardening chores at the restaurant took up my days off.  My mom comes to help me and has been doing most of the planting and fertilizing and weeding for many years.   My husband does the heavy lifting and hauling, but he's out of town for business for the next two weeks and the mess was driving me crazy.

We changed the menu this week.  Changing appetizers on Wednesday and entrees on Friday.  It's just easier that way.  We also had a sold out wine tasting on Wednesday.  We ended up with too much Salmon coming in from Boston, so I sent an email blast out featuring a well loved Salmon Dish.    We ended up being quite busy because of it. 

Easter Sunday went very well again.  But the only reason it does is because we limit the number of large parties to five groups of 5 to 8 people each.  I have two rounds that seat up to 8 people.  I booked one of them for three "turns" and the other for two "turns". 

This makes many people very, very unhappy.  We are booked for these larger tables at least a month in advance.  People cannot understand how we cannot accommodate a party of 6 when they call a week in advance.  We say no.  We say no again.  Then they book a table of 4 and a table of 2 and expect to be put together.  One of my hosts made the mistake of taking a party like this.  Of course when the people arrive, if they are seated on opposite sides of the restaurant they are pissed and tell us that we have ruined their Easter.  WHATEVER!!!  I have instructed my hosts to just say we do not have anything available at all to these people for next year.  Of course I made the table happen yesterday, but what if I couldn't?  Do they realize how many reservations I turned down just like theirs?  Do they realize how many people reading this blog are going to be pissed because they are one of the parties I turned down?