Never On Sunday

When you think you have seen everything in our local corner of the internet, you will discover a gentleman who is disgruntled that he cannot purchase gourmet cookies on Sunday in River Hill. 

Really.

It just so happens that the new Crumbl establishment in the River Hill Village Center is closed on Sundays. That’s apparently a part of the company culture. 

The company addressed this question on its LinkedIn profile, acknowledging that many people have been wondering the same thing, and that "[w]hile we know customers still want to buy cookies on Sundays, we believe there are more important things than just sales." The post went on to explain that the main reason for the policy is that "Sunday is a dedicated day to our Crumbl Crew to be with their friends and families. Running a Crumbl location is around-the-clock HARD work but running a store shouldn't come at the cost of meaningful relationships." - - The Food Republic 

I must admit I was puzzled that anyone could have a problem with a purveyor of fancy cookies taking one day off out of seven. But there’s a controversy for everyone, I suppose. The reasoning behind the complaint was that, if any day was just “made for enjoying cookies”, it was Sunday. 

Does this make being being cookie-less on Sundays a crisis? A crime?

This got me thinking about which businesses that I thought ought to be open seven days. The hospital, of course. Urgent care. Gas stations, drugstores, groceries. Can you think of any other “absolutely must haves” in the business category?

Cookies did not make my list. YMMV, as they say.

Back when I used to live in Baltimore, a favorite casual place to eat or get takeout was Never On Sunday, located at the corner of Charles and Read Streets in the Mount Vernon neighborhood. In those days I probably would’ve been picking up chicken parm subs on the way to Thursday night choir practice. 

What I wouldn’t have been doing was getting lunch after church with the choir folks because, as the name says, Never on Sunday wasn’t open on Sundays. Nope. Not ever. I’m guessing that the establishment, which opened in the 1960’s,  takes its name from the 1960 film and the hit song made famous by Connie Francis:

Oh, you can kiss me on a Monday

A Monday, a Monday is very, very good

Or you can kiss me on a Tuesday

A Tuesday, a Tuesday, in fact I wish you would

Or you can kiss me on a Wednesday

A Thursday, a Friday and Saturday is best

But never, never on a Sunday

A Sunday, a Sunday, 'cause that's my day of rest

I don’t remember if anyone I knew ever complained about the Sunday closings. It was just a part of the restaurant’s quirky charm. 

Then, several years ago, the restaurant took a momentous step. And not everyone was happy about it. Christina Tkacik wrote about it for the Baltimore Banner.

Some restaurants are so beloved they’re practically holy; to change them even the tiniest bit would be blasphemous.

Consider the backlash online to Never On Sunday’s decision to rebrand and open an additional day. According to its website, the longtime Mount Vernon deli, which first opened more than 60 years ago, is now called “Nevers” and, yes, will serve on Sundays come fall.

“This feels like an April Fools Joke,” someone wrote on Facebook in response to the news. “This feels dirty.”

“They are renaming it to ‘sometimes on Sundays,’ ” quipped another. - - The Dish, 8/16/2023

Working in food service is grueling, whether you’re in a restaurant or baking gourmet cookies in a shop. Most people don’t truly understand the amount of work involved. I have no problem with such businesses getting to set their own hours of operation. 

Perhaps someone out there, inspired by one man’s rant, will open the “Only On Sundays” cookie service. The slogan, of course: Sundays are just made for enjoying cookies.

What do you think?

Village Green/Town² Comments