BOWLING GREEN, Ohio — Madison West remembers going to Pagliai's in Bowling Green as a kid.
"I definitely attribute this place to where I grew up," West said. "My parents and grandparents took me here."
West talked about someday working at the restaurant, and at age 17, the Bowling Green high school student was hired. Now 24, Madison worked her way up to manager.
West has seen the ups and downs of the last few years, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the 50th anniversary of the business and the death of owner George Nicholson.
"It's just not something I ever want to see go down," West said.
But last week, the restaurant announced on its Facebook page it was in desperate need of help, afraid it wouldn't be able to function after the weekend. West said the restaurant has made it, but only barely.
She says the restaurant is so low on employees, it's getting harder for the restaurant to operate normally.
"It's absolutely insane," West said. "We have one person that has to act as though they're three people to make up for the people we don't have. It's a hard ask but, it's just got to happen to keep it going."
West blames part of the lack of help on the growing number of restaurants with competitive wages in the area, and not enough people available or willing to work.
"With other businesses offering incredibly competitive wages, we just can't keep up being a small business," West said.
Employee Kade Nye said the dinner rush can put a strain on the already thin workforce.
"We're all just doing what we need to do," Nye said. We'll get past the rush, and we just celebrate when it's over."
West said there are a core few employees who are willing to work all seven days of the week to keep the business open, but she isn't sure how much longer it can operate with so few people.
"There's a lot of us who are so devoted and dedicated to the place that that won't happen," West said.
West added that since the store's Facebook post, they've received several applications, which she hopes to quickly convert into hires.