“To an adventure.” Jill lifted her glass, and the other two girls joined her, tapping glasses lightly.
Mandy enjoyed working her lunch shift. Gary walked her through everything much as he did Emma the day before, and she was happy to see that it was fairly busy and stayed steady throughout the afternoon. Or at least that’s how it seemed to her. Gary apparently felt differently.
“Well, we were a little off again today. Lunches just haven’t been as busy as they used to be.”
“Really? Why is that do you think?”
“Hard to say. The restaurant business is fickle. There’s no real rhyme or reason to it. You can plan for a busy night and then be dead and vice versa. There’s more competition than there used to be, for one thing. Plus, I think a lot of the business crowd comes less frequently than they used to. They go for more casual lunches. Faster service so they can get in and out quickly and back to work. The days of the three-martini lunches are long gone.”
“That makes sense.” Mandy agreed. She pulled a menu from the stack at the front desk and browsed it for a moment. The selection was mouthwatering, as Mandy loved all things Italian, but as she looked over the dishes, there was a familiar sameness there. Nothing new or surprising.
“When was the last time the menu was updated?” she asked.
Gary thought for a moment, then chuckled. “It’s been years. Paul and Jason do their daily specials, but this has been the menu pretty much the entire time I’ve worked here. The only thing that has changed every few years is the prices.”
“That’s interesting.” She thought of some of the restaurants that she and Cory frequented, where the menus seemed to change with the seasons.
“Why mess with success, I suppose?” Gary said with a smile as he reached to answer the phone. “Mimi’s Place, how may I help you?”
“You may need to fire people,” Cory said as he buttered a piece of bread. He and Mandy had just sat down to dinner. The kids had eaten earlier and were now watching TV in the family room. Mandy had just finished telling Cory about her first day and how the menu was virtually untouched over the years.
“That’s a bit unusual, don’t you think? Plus, we haven’t even heard from the consultant yet. He still has a few more visits before he’ll make any recommendations, right?” she asked.
“Yes, but more than likely that will be one of his suggestions. It usually is. There are always ways to cut back and losing a few people makes a big impact quickly.”
“I don’t like it. We don’t want to come in and ruffle feathers right off the bat. We need these people. Grams would not approve.” Mandy knew she’d hate it.
“Just planting the seed, so you’re not shocked when it’s suggested as part of the recovery plan.”
“Well, we’ll see what else he suggests. We don’t have to do everything he says, or not all at once, anyway.”
“Of course not,” he agreed.
“Plus, we don’t want to be short-handed for the wedding.” One of the highlights of her day had been when a young woman and her mother stopped in for lunch, and on the way out said they’d decided to book their wedding reception at Mimi’s Place.
They were planning on around two hundred people, which would fill the entire restaurant when they opened the adjacent function room. It had an accordion-style folding door that could be opened to make for one giant room. Mimi’s Place did a good number of weddings, and Mandy listened intently as Gary walked the two women through all the different options. This kind of event was right up her alley and she felt confident that she could help make it a special day by making sure everything went smoothly.
“I’m going to run back to the office for a bit,” Cory said as Mandy finished clearing the table and stacking the dishes in the dishwasher.
“Now? Why not just work here?” It was almost eight, and she felt about ready to drop. She was looking forward to putting on her softest pajamas, getting the kids tucked into bed and curling up with a book for a bit before climbing into bed herself.
“I left the papers I need at the office and I’ll be able to focus there and get things done more quickly.”
“Okay. Don’t stay too late though.” She kissed him on the cheek and watched as he walked out the front door. He was obsessed with work and had been as long as Mandy had known him. She foolishly thought that when he opened his own business, he’d have more flexibility, and more time to relax, but it was exactly the opposite. He worked more hours now than he ever had before.