This year, for the first time on any holiday, we got to open up the Ballroom patio for extra seating. It was a gorgeous day--about 78 degrees with a nice breeze that wasn't too strong since we're on the river. There were two tables for 12, a table for 10, three tables for 8 and ten tables for 4. We were confident it was going to be a popular day to want to sit outside to enjoy the Easter brunch. Here is one of many views from the porch:

As the day got busier around noon time--once people were done with church and lunch rolled around--the weather was at its peak. But everyone we asked if they'd want to sit outside gave a quick and firm "NO!" which took us all by surprise. After banking on people wanting to sit outside, we ended up having a lot of the following conversations:
Customer--"Hi, I had a reservation for 5 at 12:30pm, the name is XXXX"
Danversport--"Thank you. Would you like to sit inside or outside this afternoon? We have some gorgeous seating..."
Customer--"...No, not outside. Definitely inside. I have my small children/grandmother here and we can not sit outside."
Danversport--"Ok, then the wait is going to be about 30 or 45 minutes"
Customer--"That is unacceptable. I have reservations."
Danversport--"I'm sorry, we can seat you immediately outside, or it will be a wait."
Customer angrily storms away to discuss with family, and decides to wait.
I personally find it frustrating to walk into a restaurant with a reservation and have to wait that long. Five or 10 minutes, sure, I can understand that. But 30 or 45 minutes? I agree, that is pretty unacceptable.
Lesson learned from the day:
Do NOT plan on people wanting to go potentially out of their comfort zone and experience something they're not used to, or that they have not planned for--outdoor dining. This is where the problem was--more reservations were accepted because we had the extra seating...but it turned out no one wanted that extra seating. So, have it there as a nice add-on and surprise, but don't count on it.
Thankfully, the Easter bunny was hopping around to keep the children entertained:

Eventfully Yours,
Megan
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