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Shirley’s down to 2 cooks
Susupe location temporarily closed
About half of Shirley’s Coffee Shop’s employees were affected by the Commonwealth-only permit delays, with only two cooks at the helm, forcing the closure of the restaurant’s Susupe location. (Daisy Demapan)
The family restaurant in Susupe, a popular staple in the community for its American, Filipino, and Chamorro cuisine, closed its doors this week, worsening the crises of service-oriented businesses that rely on additional CW support for continued operations.
According to restaurant manager Noelle Macario, the restaurants employ a total of 50 employees for their dining and kitchen areas for their Garapan and Susupe branches.
She says their Susupe location has closed shop indefinitely until CW delays are resolved.
Right now, they have focused their efforts on keeping the high traffic Garapan location open for business.
“What we are trying to do is keep this one location open. Although most of the 25 who aren’t working are dining staff, it’s the kitchen that is in trouble right now because we only have four people,” she said.
Macario said the four employees who are currently at the helm of the restaurant’s operations are two main cooks and two helpers and dishwashers.
She said the Garapan location, which is normally a 24-hour restaurant operation, is also experiencing setbacks. It is currently operating from 6am to 10pm at night until further notice.
“We are trying to make do with what we have by adjusting their schedules because Garapan is 24 hours so we are putting it down to 16 hours so [the cooks] can get some rest,” she said.
Yesterday, she said, some dining staff’s work permits were renewed but this has not alleviated the pressure on kitchen operations.
Macario says all 25 CW renewal applications were submitted in October, fulfilling the 90-day timeframe recommended by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service but she is still waiting on updates for their remaining 20 CW employees.
She said that USCIS has not issued them any requests for evidence.
“We’re just hoping that our customers are understanding because we are understaffed and it’s slower than usual,” she said.
