It wasn’t very long after Sweet Betty’s closed before the void was palpable to the Le Roy community, Kristen Beardsley says.

“I have a lot of friends and family in Le Roy and we could tell they were really missing this place. And it's kind of like, there's really not a lot of places to eat in Le Roy, to sit down and eat,” Beardsley said to The Batavian during Wednesday’s reopening of Sweet Betty’s.

Many businesses have found it hard recently to staff their operations, and now one restaurant's inability to find a cook has forced it to close its doors.

Sweet Betty's owner Gabrielle (Gabby) Keister said her restaurant is closing because of kitchen staffing issues.

"We’ve been looking for a cook for over a year, part-time or full-time," Keister said. "We are done trying to beg people to work."

Restaurants across the nation have been struggling with staffing since the shutdown at the start of the pandemic. The National Restaurant Association estimates nearly a million workers have left the industry.

The Department of Labor has not yet released September's unemployment rate, but in August it was 3.0 percent in Genesee County with only 900 people considered unemployed.  

Genesee County's unemployment rate has remained below 4.0 percent since September 2021.

Sweet Betty's opened in 2020 at 15 Main St., Le Roy, during the pandemic.

In a social media post, Keister said, "Who would have thought we’d make it through, and so successfully? It was because of your (customers) continuous patronage that this was possible."

For those who have gift certificates, she said, customers can stop by on Friday from 4 to 6 p.m. with gift cards for a refund or to buy hard ice cream -- 25 flavors to choose from.

She said Sweet Betty's will participate in the Winterfest on Dec. 3.

"We will have Santa and Mrs. Claus and the second annual “Maddie Master’s Pay it Forward” one-mile walk, as well as luminaries and a walk to the tree-lighting.

"Thank you for making the past two years a lot of fun," she told customers. "We will always remember all who supported us during our venture!"

Previously: From burgers to cheesecake, new Le Roy restaurant is a sweet addition

Photo: File photo by Howard Owens of Gabby Keister, her husband Scott Keister, and their son Scott (on left).