EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WEHT) – Mardi Gras celebrations, including Fat Tuesday, went on largely unaffected by supply chain issues. One local restaurant, Rick’s 718 Bar and Grill, announced earlier in February that they would not serve Mardi Gras-related items due to supply issues and employee shortages. For Chaser’s Bar and Grill, however, supply was not an issue for 2022’s celebration.
“We actually had authentic king cakes delivered here from Louisiana every day so that they were fresh every day,” explains Chaser’s General Manager Nichole Marshall. “And then the owner’s wife, she took a couple of the bartender’s down there to pick up a lot of the product and to bring it here.”
Fully stocked on the Mardi Gras favorites, Marshall says they were able to make it through the celebrations without running out of food. With the largest crowds since before the pandemic, Chaser’s was full of customers hoping to return to some sense of normalcy.
“I think we knew, since some restrictions were starting to calm down, that we were going to be a lot more busy than we were in the past.” Marshall goes on to say, “So I think going forward knowing that, we were able to make sure we had enough supply to take care of all our customers.”
Chaser’s employee Jessica King says the increased foot traffic this year was visible compared to years past.
“I would say we are more busy than this time than we were last year,” says King. “I think we brought more food home this time, because last year we started to run out the last few days.”
