Why Mother’s Day is the most hated day for restaurants

Mother’s Day is one of the most hectic days for restaurants. It’s such a challenge for restaurant and hotel staff that it just makes people in the industry want to throw their hands up in the air and give up.

Author of “The Bitchy Waiter: I’m Really Good at Pretending to Care,” Darron Cardosa said, “Every server knows that working on Mother’s Day is hell. In fact, if I die and go to hell, I completely expect it to be Mother’s Day 365 days a year.”

Tough for Restaurants

Why is it hell? Huge groups, kids in tow, food-fussy people and then people who just don’t want to leave once the meal is done at restaurants.

“The anticipation alone can make you anxious. It gets jam-packed. People are calling at the last minute for a reservation, and there are other people who made multiple reservations so Mom could have her pick and they never cancel, people who take out their mother once a year tell you, ‘Nothing can go wrong!’, said Joe Haley who works as a waiter at an Italian restaurant in Massachusetts.

The Irony

The irony is everything can and does go wrong.

“And every family has at least one black sheep or in-law who can’t be relied upon to save their lives. Mother’s Day: I dread it,” he said.

Post pandemic it appears people also want more food and tastier food as if to make up for the deprivation of outings and delicious food in the last few years.

Chef Art Smith who has worked for Oprah Winfrey and Jen Bush said people seem to want more of everything. “They’re drinking more. They want more carbs – if it’s Mac and cheese, it has to be the cheesiest. But they want salads, and they want more veg sides too. They just want more,” he said.

The National Retail Federation estimates that Mother’s Day spending will reach $35.7 billion this year, with a record $6.5 billion alone spent on a meal or outing, up 6% from last year.

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