'We're Stressed': Understaffed Fenway Restaurants Prepare For ALCS
BOSTON (CBS) – Steps from Gate A at Fenway Park, you'll find The Best Sausage Company. While they're grateful for the business the ALCS will bring, they're stressed behind the counter.
"We're short staffed, the owner's here working like a regular guy, and you bring in whoever you can," said employee Bob Pagliuca.
The bar scene is feeling overwhelmed, too. With a line out the door on game nights, the owner of Fenway Johnnie's told WBZ-TV it's been hard for his staff to keep up. Only a fraction of his staff returned after the pandemic closures. Between his location near the ballpark and TD Garden, John Caron said he's forced to share his staff to get by.
"We're fortunate they're not both playing at once so we can shift them over," said owner John Caron of the staffing shortage. "It was such a long shutdown; people have gone onto other professions and it's going to be a while until we're back."
Pagliuca has been in the food industry for decades and suspects there's another reason why restaurant workers didn't return in full force.
"The way you're treated; you have no benefits – except for hotels or bigger establishments. You get nothing. You're not appreciated," he said.
With a potential three-game stretch, restaurant workers are asking for patience.
"We've suffered that people don't realize we're stressed. We just don't stop running around," said Caron.
The Red Sox will face the Houston Astros at home on Monday, 8:07pm.
