Telling people that you’re taking a vacation doesn’t usually create social media storm, but when the owners of a popular Richmond restaurant posted that they were doing just that, the reaction was surprisingly intense.
Most upsetting for some loyal customers was the fact the eatery would be closed for two months.
Potelicious, which specializes in Taiwanese food on Westminster Highway, announced on its Facebook page that it was taking time off this summer, from June 1 to Aug. 2.
The Facebook Posting got more than 100 likes and triggered over 60 comments within a few days.
"Oh no, I have to wait until August for its reopening," said one netizen in a post.
“It has been one of my favourite eateries in town. I feel a sense of emptiness,” said another netizen in a post.
Meanwhile, some people said the two-month vacation is what they need.
"Wow! Are you guys planning to travel somewhere else?" a netizen asked. "I am so jealous. The two-month vacation can help everyone be more productive."
In response to the online feedback, staff from Potelicious further explained that, in fact, this was a “forced vacation.”
"We had to make this decision because we are short of staff, and we don't want to sacrifice the quality of our food. Therefore, we have to close our doors for two months," read the restaurant's post on Facebook.
William Tse, association director of the Richmond-based BC Asian Restaurant Café Owners Association, said it's becoming more common for restaurant staff to take "forced vacations" in the post-pandemic world due to labour shortages.
"Many chefs and waitresses switched careers over the past two years, and I have heard many restaurant owners complaining about the lack of staff. The temporary band-aid solution is to take more than two days off each week, but most owners don't want to do that,” said Tse.
“I understand the store owner for taking a long vacation, which means he cares more about food quality than money. Therefore, we can just be patient and wait for them to return,” read a post on Facebook.
