Well, we hadn't posted on this blog in awhile, and we also just found out that our auto-update service was bugged, and all this time we thought you were able to see our Instagram photos for a nice little smile, but the pages were blank, and we are so sorry for that. Here we are sending you a little photo love.
Good help is hard to find these days, but it's a little scary that even digital apps stopped working properly LOL and we apologize for that. As for us, a victory as business we survived through the pandemic, but it has been bittersweet for us, as so many things have changed, and we don't often take time to write our thoughts, This year IS the big 40. Big Fat Daddy's 40 Year Anniversary is fast approaching and what we hope is the start of our final chapter. We survived the pandemic with the help of our local community, as we were forced to morph our food to curbside pickup in lieu of many of our usual 30+ year events having to be cancelled.. We thank all of those who stood by us during that time and got us over the hump. We came up with odd menu items just to make our customers smile. The pizza porker below, had a unique taste, but we ask you what's better than pizza and pork?
Sadly, the pandemic has wrecked so many things. The financial impact has been devastating on the small business during the past two years. We've seen so many of our friends in this industry, lose their businesses, bars and restaurants forced to shut down (in some states) never able to regroup. It is sad to see people lose everything they worked for all those years. Not to mention the cost of food and shortages, they exist because of lack of workers to move the product. At one a food company could not deliver to restaurants, because they were trying to fill hospital orders first and did not have the drivers. We had to run to the Restaurant Store, which was limited quantities of items. Even Walmart was out of bleach and almost all of their Dawn, essential items for foodservice.
Due to lack of workforce, many larger companies now being able to pay top dollar to just get people to show up for work, which leaves small mom and pops doing everything themselves. Larger companies like the Big A are probably doing well considering most things we order form home. We urge the small business owner to try to reinvent themselves and ask that you support them in their struggle, because it's real.
Suffice to say, what we can't understand is how some states never shut down at all. Companies were a victim of the state in which they lived. For instance, in Pennsylvania, they may have not survived, but in Florida, they stayed open and are still thriving. Why are the two states so different?
We've seen the pandemic and subsequent shutdowns impact and break the minds of many people we know, including children. Children who come to the stand are real talkative. They then tell us their story. They told us how they weren't allowed to see their best friends, or others who missed out on graduations, dances, etc. These events are supposed to be some of the happiest times in their lives. How can you make up for this? One child told us his parents were fighting with his teachers about parental rights whether to have control over their children wearing a mask or not. Wow. Out of the mouths of babes. He should be worrying about what game to play, what sports to sign up for, or how good his burger is, but instead his mind is on things he cannot understand. It was heartbreaking to hear the stories. What a mess the whole ordeal has been. Kids have told us that they are having issues with the distance learning and have failed classes because of it. We tell them to stay positive, things will get better. We hope that is the truth.
It kills us to see HOW PEOPLE BROKE. Even the strongest somtimes, the recovered alcoholics who took a tumble off the wagon, ex-smokers start smoking again and the people who used to be straight are addicted to hard drugs. Covid has broken so many people during this pandemic it's not funny. Mentally it is taxing on the mind to wonder if life will ever return to somewhat normal? We sure hope so. Depending on where you live, it has been normal the whole time. More importantly, many have lost loved ones during the pandemic. We hear stories from friends and customers that their loved ones went into a hospital or into a nursing home, and they were not able to visit, only to wonder if they had visited and cheered them on to get better, would the outcome have been different. Many deaths Covid related, and our hearts go out to you.
God Bless America!
We don't have the answers here, we only can tell you that when we go state to state and see the difference in rules and regulations, we can tell it does not make any sense. Some places are living in restricted controlled zones and have had so many mandates on gatherings, masks, etc such as the state our business is in, whereas other states have had nothing to this magnitude. Maybe Dr. Oz has a point...
Which is right, and which is wrong? Perhaps it's up to your personal opinion.
The one big mistake we are all making is hating each other for having different beliefs.
Our hope is you think long and hard about this. We are all Americans. That guy down the street used to come to your cookout, but now you hate him because he has a (insert political candidate name) sign on his lawn. WHY? Because the media wants you to? You should respect his opinion, shake on it, and never talk politics again. Because we are all Americans. One big family here in the USA, and we will have different beliefs. We should not let anything divide us, not color, not race, not religion and not voting preferences or the type of steak we eat (blue, rare, medium, well, burnt to hell, or none at all....)
We do not think the media helps at all. Back when we were starting in business maybe before some of you were born, the TV stations had news which all showed the same events, in full, not edited, often LIVE reported events. In this case, if the President give a speech, you watched the whole news and nothing else, and then you made up your own mind.
America is supposed to be the home of the free, land of the brave. We are made up of all walks of life here, and many people's grandparents came from other countries, moved to America, and now are Americans.
So today we ask that you be brave and call your friend you haven't talked to in two years because you disagreed on something. Be free and stand united with those who don't agree with the same things you do, respect the fact they can have an opinion different than your own. Talk about this fact to each other and your kids, that's it's okay to be different sides, but in the end of the day, WE should stand tall together as you are all Americans. We look forward to the 2022 year in business with lots of changes. We aren't as young as we once were. We welcomed a grandbaby <3 and some of our priorities have changed. We are doing limited events but to look forward to the smiles on your faces. Please remember, we love you all, red, green or blue, and we hope that perhaps in 2022 strengthens the unity of America.
