Wally's in East Ridge
Wally's East Ridge is cutting its hours due to a shortage of employees, longtime owner Glen Meadows said.
He said a notice was posted on the door that the new hours will be Monday-Saturday 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
Mr. Meadows said Wally's, which has been in business at the Ringgold Road site for 34 years, at one time had over 50 employees.
He said a staff of 12-13 has committed to continue on with the lunch hours. The alternative would have been to close the restaurant's doors.
Mr. Meadows said he hopes at some point to be able to again offer breakfast at Wally's.
As for the evenings, he said he has noticed a trend "that not many people go out in the evening looking for a meat and three place."
Mr. Meadows noted there is an increasing number of dining options in the fast-developing Exit 1 section.
He said a number of Christmas parties had been booked for the evenings, but most of those did not mind switching to the lunch hour.
Mr. Meadows said the worker shortage began with the start of COVID. He said March 7, 2019, was the biggest day in the restaurant's history. He said a week later "the spigot began to turn off. Another week and we were closed."
He said, "I am thankful for all our loyal customers through the years, and we hope they will continue to come to Wally's and support us. We have four large banquet rooms that are available for special events."
His brother, Gary Meadows, continues to operate the original Wally's Restaurant on McCallie Avenue.