5:36 PM Tuesday, March 22, 2022
Business inside The Brooklyn Restaurant and Bar at Edinburgh USA golf course has picked up. And it’s about to get even busier.
“As we’re prepping for this next season, we’re seeing a huge influx of people that want to go out,” said James Wallenberg, general manager at The Brooklyn.
Wallenberg has a pretty simple answer to sum up the current state of affairs.
“We’re busy. I’m very busy,” he said.
It’s a good problem to have with a COVID-19 pandemic pushed closer to the rearview mirror. But it also comes with knowing that everybody is returning at once.
“It does all hit you at once. We’re trying to staff and be ready for it as much as possible, some challenges there, but we’re definitely working through them,” said Wallenberg.
Not only has business at the restaurant picked up, but the requests for the venue’s two large banquet rooms have picked up too. Wallenberg estimated that the Brooklyn Park location has close to 100 weddings booked this summer.
“All the weddings that have been postponed for the past couple years that are all coming to fruition now,” he said. “Plus the new ones of people that are getting married.”
Wallenberg also mentioned more corporate events returning, which leads to a significant demand for more staff.
Customers enjoy a meal Tuesday at The Brooklyn.
The Brooklyn Looking to Double Restaurant, Catering Staff
Bartender Madi Corneil says she’s excited to see familiar faces return to dining out.
“Getting to see all the regulars again is really nice,” said Corneil.
Those customers include Brian Siverson-Hall, who stopped by The Brooklyn on Tuesday for lunch.
“I love how they revamped the entire space, made it beautiful space to come to. Great staff, they’re always friendly when you are here,” said Siverson-Hall.
But Wallenberg knows he could use a few more workers like Corneil to help. The restaurant and catering part of the business has a total of about 20 workers on staff currently. Wallenberg said the venue could really use close to double that figure.
“We’re looking for front-of-the-house staff, back-of-the-house staff, servers, bartenders, people to help execute the guest service piece of this,” he said.
The venue has been operated by D’Amico & Partners for the past three years.
“The staff here is very good,” said Wallenberg. “We’ve all been together for three years. We’ve had very little turnover here. It’s a great crew to work with. D’Amico as a whole is a great company.”
Also adding to the spring hiring rush, if the weather cooperates, the Edinburgh USA golf course could open in two weeks.