January 31, 2012

R.I.P. Brunch, sort of

OK, it’s official gang. We’re going to stop doing pancakes at HSQ on weekends. We’ll bring them back for the month of March when the maple syrup starts to flow, but for now they are gone.

I’ve been hearing rumblings about how challenging it’s been for the restaurant to keep up with our “brunch” on the weekends. This past Saturday I had Rolando come up so that we could sort this out. The decision, for a bunch of reasons, is to say goodbye to the pancakes. Sorry all, this is the way it has to be. I know they’re awesome, but they’ve got to go. Major factors impacting this decision:

  • Currently EVERYTHING about opening the restaurant on a Saturday or Sunday is different. It’s really stressful to the staff
  • We don’t have the right equipment to support a growing brunch. We would need to invest in a giant griddle.
  • Brunch doesn’t make much money. A bit more than a normal breakfast, but not enough to justify
  • Current brunch feels like a carb-heavy, unbalanced menu
  • Normal wait times at Clover are 4-5 minutes, brunch is more like 12 minutes. That’s a tough transition
  • Jean (a very passionate customer) has told me she’s going to hunt me down if I ever use the word “brunch” to refer to our weekend breakfast again

Tomorrow I’ll talk about what is replacing “brunch.” In the meantime, let’s take a few minutes to mourn a good friend.

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