Flying Squirrel to end Sunday brunch in favor of evening service
Brunch fans will have one more chance to take in an earlyafternoon Sunday meal at the Flying Squirrel as the restaurant announced over the weekend plans to end its Sunday brunch service to better focus on its dinner menu.
“Our goals have crystallized,” owners said in a note posted to social media. “It’s time for us to focus and double down on our most important shared long-term objectives. In this spirit, we’ve made the unthinkable-to-many decision to dismantle a decade-old Southside institution: Sunday brunch at the Squirrel. It’s had its ups and downs; it’s given us some shiny, tender moments, but more challenges than anything else; at the end of the day, it simply doesn’t dovetail with our goal of being the best damn dinner spot we possibly can be.”
The Flying Squirrel will be open Monday nights for the first time as it transitions to a sevennight dinner service, which co-owner Max Poppel called a “huge change.”
“Our brunch was still successful — Chattanooga is a very brunch-oriented city, and our brunch was very successful. It was like running a separate business one day a week,” Poppel said by phone Sunday.
He said it was a strain on the entire operation to run a nighttime restaurant four nights a week and then turn around and do a different menu Sunday afternoons.
“This frees up our resources and lets us lean in on what we are doing,” Poppel said.
In the social media post, the owners called the local dining scene competitive, adding that “the obstacles to success, or even survival, have never been more real.”
“In the post-pandemic, the cost of goods has gone up — food, booze, waste removal,” Poppel said by phone Monday. “It’s no surprise as everything has skyrocketed. Staffing is getting better, but it’s not where it was. Perhaps ‘dire’ is too strong a word as we are nowhere near closing, but it is a challenge.”
Poppel and Dan Rose started the business nearly 10 years ago. The Southside eatery just off Main Street will present its final brunch March 5.
“This is the biggest change we’ve made in 10 years, and we don’t take it lightly,” the social media post said. “You can expect to see a renewed and reenergized focus on our service, food and beverage programs, and hospitality.”