COLUMBIA, S.C. — Hard workers throughout the Midlands are enjoying a well-deserved day off but local restaurants are working through the holidays to feed our communities.
“Everybody loves breakfast and we want to feed it to them. We decided to stay open and serve Columbia the best pancakes in Columbia,” said Original Pancake house GM Tim Flenor.
Flenor said he retained about 80 percent of his employees during the pandemic, so they were prepared and ready to serve.
“We were fully staffed today. We knew today would be quite busy for us so we had all hands on deck,” he said.
Simply Soulful in Eastover only has a few workers on staff, but were given the day off. Owner Letisha Cortez held down the fort to keep business going.
“I chose to stay open because we still do have a lot of people that are working and alot of places are closed so I just wanted to offer a place to be able to grab something to eat,” said Cortez.
She said now more than ever she feels it’s important for her workers to have personal time.
“I make sure that they take off any time that they need to make sure that they take care of themselves. Because that’s what matters first especially during these trying times,” she said.
College Grounds Cafe is open most holidays, including Labor Day. They said days like these make them appreciate having a more intimate experience with customers.
“We love it. We love having that time to really connect with our customers because there’s less people coming in than normal so we generally enjoy it,” said Assistant Manager Carrington Harden.
Harden said Labor Day is a good day to support small businesses and show grace to their workers.
“If you’re coming in and you’re having a bad attitude or you know you’re not really having a good day, alot of times us here we’re here to make your day better, we’re here to make sure you leave with a smile on your face,” he said.