ATHOL — A popular breakfast and brunch spot has made the difficult choice to close on Wednesdays for the foreseeable future.

Kellie McLaughlin, owner of Kellie’s, announced last week via social media that her business will be closed on Wednesdays. The response from customers has been strong, with many offering words of support and promising to continue coming in.

Reached at the restaurant, McLaughlin said she held off on making this call for some time and spent a while researching options. Even though Wednesday is the slowest day, she was worried that the news would cause people to go elsewhere. Mondays and Tuesdays are her busiest days, partly because few establishments are open then.

“It was a very difficult decision because I want to be here,” said McLaughlin, adding that she intends for this to be a temporary situation.

When asked what led to her decision, McLaughlin cited a shortage of workers as one reason. She has nine employees, but would like to hire two more — a second cook and another waitress, but said she’s been unable to find anyone, and the work is too much for the available staff to remain open seven days a week.

“I run my cook six days a week,” she said.

Inflation is another factor, and one that has hit Kellie’s hard. She said the electric bill has doubled from $1,000 to $2,000, and prices for eggs, sausage and bacon have all risen sharply.

McLaughlin said she doesn’t want to raise her prices, but has had to for some items. Late last year, the increase left her several thousand dollars short and she had to use her own money to balance things out. She said that because she owns a business, people tend to assume she has money to spare, but there have been times she hasn’t taken a paycheck to ensure other costs are covered.

“Everything has just skyrocketed,” she said.

McLaughlin purchased Kellie’s, formerly the home of Nick’s Breakfast and Lunch, and reopened it in 2019. She worked for 30 years in the banking industry and after retiring, decided to pursue this new venture. When the pandemic hit, she switched to selling takeout suppers and used government funds to keep the business afloat, reopening with capacity restrictions that later lifted.

McLaughlin said Kellie’s is a place where “people come to meet people.” One regular gets an allowance from his wife and he chooses to spend it at Kellie’s. She said their sausage gravy, cinnamon swirl French toast and cheeseburger omelet bring people in from all over the area.

“I’m not giving up,” she said. “I keep getting knocked down and I get back up.”

Max Bowen can be reached at 413-772-0261, ext. 265 or at mbowen@recorder.com.

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