Penelope Ballas-Stewart felt a small sense of normalcy returning to Luigi’s this week.
“It’s definitely not what we’re used to,” said Ballas-Stewart, who’s worked in her family’s restaurant most of her life. “We didn’t know what to expect. We’re easing back into things.”
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During a typical Masters week, Luigi’s on Broad Street is open seven nights a week and sees about 1,000 customers. This year, the Ballas family didn’t open the doors until Wednesday, April 7. But the delayed opening didn’t disappoint Ballas-Stewart, who saw some familiar Masters’ week faces.
“We always love to see (Masters champion) Ben Crenshaw. He’s a personal friend and loyal customer,” she said.
Another guest who dined at Luigi’s on April 7 was Condoleezza Rice, former United States Secretary of State.
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“That was huge,” Ballas-Stewart said. “She was so gracious.”
With limited numbers of patrons in town for this week’s tournament, business might be slower, but there are at least some guests in town this week, much to the delight of restauranteurs such as Ballas-Stewart and Walter Clay, who owns Rae’s Coastal Café and French Market Grille in Surrey Center.
“It’s not as good as two years ago, but it’s better than last year,” said Clay.
Clay decided to open this week with continued precautions. Only dinner is served at Rae’s with reservations required. There’s also limited seating at the bar.
“We could be back to normal if we wanted to,” he said.
His main concern, however, is his staff. While he’d love to be at full capacity, he’s more concerned with the health and welfare of his employees.
“I have a young staff,” he said.
Many of them have not gotten the vaccine yet, and he doesn’t want to put them at unnecessary risk by overcrowding the restaurants.
For some businesses, Masters’ week doesn’t bring an influx of guests, so they haven’t noticed many changes.
“It’s not a huge traffic week for us– many of our regulars go out of town, and the tournament patrons head straight to the course in the morning,” according to Pat Curry of Buona Caffe.
In the past, the week has brought some interesting travelers in search of specialty coffee, and Curry hopes for their return.
“One year, we had a group of German massage therapists who came in every day. And the Australian golfers were so serious about their coffee, they flew in their own barista and espresso machine from Down Under,” she wrote in a message.
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As much as he loves seeing returning guests and longtime friends who only frequent his businesses during Masters’ week, Clay said he’s always glad to see his in-town customers who flock back the week after the tournament.
“In most years, the week after Masters is our second busiest week of the year,” he said.
Charmain Z. Brackett is the Features Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach her at charmain@theaugustapress.com.
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