Another Vermont restaurant shuts down. Here's what they are saying

Another Vermont restaurant has announced it is shutting down because of staffing shortages in the food industry.

The Bearded Frog Bar & Grill, which opened on Shelburne Road in 2006, announced Monday on social media that it is closing “indefinitely” after dinner service Thursday, Aug. 18. The Bearded Frog’s announcement came one day after another Chittenden County restaurant, the Vermont Tap House in Williston, revealed that it is closing until at least mid-December for renovations, with the timing of the break spurred by “staffing pressures.”

Unlike the Vermont Tap House announcement, however, the social-media posts by The Bearded Frog sounded more like “farewell” than “see you soon.”

“We have not been immune to the staffing issues that are affecting the restaurant industry at large and have reached the point we are unable to continue operating,” according to The Bearded Frog’s social-media posts.

The message noted that patrons have come to the restaurant for birthdays, anniversaries, engagements, retirement parties “and just dinner on a Wednesday. We are so very thankful to you for allowing us to be a part of your lives.”

The posts end with the phrase “16 years of memories we will cherish forever.”

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The Bearded Frog did not respond to a message from the Burlington Free Press seeking additional comment.

The Bearded Frog was founded by Michel Mahe, who created something of an empire of restaurants in Vermont in the early 2000s that offered hints of upscale French and American cuisine in comfortable, unpretentious locations. Mahe, who also opened Black Sheep Bistro and Park Squeeze in Vergennes, The Bobcat Café in Bristol and The Lobby in Middlebury, died following a heart attack in 2015 at age 50.

Jericho Country Store ends dinners

Another Chittenden County business has ended its takeout dinners, and is also citing staffing problems as the reason why. The Jericho Country Store announced Monday on social media that it is ending its takeout dinners this week.

“Like countless businesses we have struggled to find enough qualified staff to make good quality food. If we can’t do it right, we’d rather not do it,” according to the store’s social-media posts. “Most restaurants close at least once per week; we’re open 7 days and we just can’t find enough help to keep dinner takeout going.”

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The store will continue to offer breakfast and lunch takeout, according to the posts. The store will remain open until 7 p.m., but the kitchen will close at 2 p.m.

Contact Brent Hallenbeck at bhallenbeck@freepressmedia.com. Follow Brent on Twitter at www.twitter.com/BrentHallenbeck.