An Ohio barbecue joint just across the border from Erie named Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf its employee of the month for bringing so much business to the lakefront eatery over the past weeks.
The Facebook post from Breakwall BBQ owner Mike Morgan is a wink and a nod to Pennsylvania’s slow, gradual reopening process — a process that has nearby Erie County still in the yellow phase, which prohibits restaurants from offering dine-in services.
Ohio restaurants have been open for full-but-socially-distant business since last month.
“Also want to give a shout-out to our employee of the month, Pennsylvania’s very own Governor Wolf,” Morgan wrote in a June 14 Facebook post. “You the man, sir!”
Morgan told Erie News Now that the comment was meant to be tongue-in-cheek. The Conneaut restaurant is about 2 miles as the crow flies from the state line.
“We’ve broken all kinds of sales records, and we know that big chunk of it is that Pennsylvania is shut down,” he told the outlet.
By May 28, Morgan had to change the restaurant’s hours because of the booming business it was doing, according to its Facebook page.
“I never thought I’d say this, but we just can’t handle the volume. We’re running out of food almost nightly. Our customer service is taking a hit and that keeps us up at night,” he wrote. “Not used to seeing unhappy customers that’s for sure. I believe once Pennsylvania opens up their restaurants a lot of the pressure will be relieved and we can go back to business as usual.”
Morgan said he feels for Pennsylvania businesses that continue losing money as restrictions remain in place, according to Erie News Now.
“We’re making a killing, and we’re grateful for it,” he said. “I wish they could too. People are ready to get out of their houses.”
