St. Louis restaurant owners report 'sticker shock' as pandemic triggers supply shortages

A cloudy, dreary sky before the Tuesday lunch rush can't keep Denny Corrigan's spirits down, as he lets out a full-body laugh to customers walking through the front door. "The last six months have been the longest day of my life," he jokes. Corrigan opened Irish Gypsy restaurant in O'Fallon, Missouri, during the height of the pandemic, and he said it's been one curveball after another. Capacity restrictions have been replaced by staff and supply shortages. "You put your orders in, and you hope…