Restaurant labor

DINING

Restaurants grapple with worker shortage

BY AMY WENK AND COLLIN KELLEY

If you’ve been to a restaurant or fastfood joint lately, you’ve likely noticed “We’re Hiring” signs. That’s because local eateries are struggling to find employees to fill positions after the pandemic shutdown.

Fast food restaurants like Cook Out are offering $12 an hour, bonuses, raises, and contributing to health insurance to attract employees. On a recent Saturday afternoon, the Krystal on Northside Drive at 14th in West Midtown had to temporarily shut down its busy drive-thru window as it waited for employees to arrive. But it’s not just the fast-food industry that’s facing staffing issues. State-wide shortage

Karen Bremer, president and CEO of the Georgia Restaurant Association, said restaurants across the state are still short 50,000 to 70,000 workers.

“Restaurateurs are struggling to find workers. Many have reduced hours and days open due to worker shortages,” Bremer said in a statement. “Some are offering signing bonuses, guaranteed schedules, and higher hourly wages.” ‘Where is everybody?’

Robby Kukler, a partner with Atlantabased Fifth Group Restaurants, said the labor shortage is preventing his company from reopening one of its restaurants. Fifth Group operates ten restaurants including South City Kitchen, Alma Cocina, Lure and Ecco.

Alma Cocina in downtown Atlanta has been closed since March 2020. Fifth Group hoped to reopen in July, but the company has been unable to hire the management team. Its other restaurants have staggered hours.

Fifth Group still needs to hire in excess of 100 people. In fact, its peak employment before the pandemic (including its catering company Bold Catering & Design) was around 950 workers. Today, it has about 450.

To help attract workers, Fifth Group has a “generous and aggressive referral program” where it offers current employees $500 if they refer a new hourly employee. The company also offers signing bonuses for new hourly workers, giving them an additional $1,000 after they work 100 days.

“It really isn’t attracting a lot of people,” Kukler said. “Where is everybody?”

Mitchell Anderson, who owns MetroFresh in Midtown, said he’s also been having trouble finding workers, including a cook.

“I’ll make appointments for people to come in for an interview and 90 percent of the time they don’t even show up,” Anderson said. “It’s super frustrating and ultimately may lead to shorter hours for the restaurant if I can’t fill the position soon.” Rethinking operations

Dunwoody resident and hospitality veteran David Abes said he’s never seen a worker shortage like this in his 30-year career.

“That’s the number one topic for my clients – staffing,” said Abes, owner of Dash Hospitality, a restaurant consulting business. Abes is also behind a planned restaurant and entertainment district in the Dunwoody Village.

“I think it has to do with attitude and the perception of restaurant business,” he said, explaining that with the pandemic, many people started to examine the hours they spend working.

In response, restaurant owners are having to rethink their operations. Some are using technology to counter labor shortages, such as investing in pay-at-the-table devices and new equipment to help automate backof-house operations, Abes said.

“The good operators have pivoted,” he said. Future outlook A recent survey conducted by job search website Indeed doesn’t offer any immediate relief but is hopeful for the fall. The survey indicated that workers don’t feel a sense of urgency to get back to work this summer.

However, many unemployed workers said increased vaccination against COVID-19, shrinking savings, and the opening of schools in the fall will be key catalysts for stepping up their job searches, the survey said.

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