Labor shortage easing at some restaurants
Back in July, Colby’s Fine Food & Spirits at Third and St. Ann streets and Colby’s Deli & Café at 401 Frederica St., like most restaurants in the country, were struggling to find workers.
The restaurant even had to close for two days because of the lack of staff.
At the time, Collin MacQuarrie, spokesman for the family that owns both restaurants, posted on Facebook, “We are asking for prayer for not only both businesses, but the service industry in general. This has been and is continuing to be one of the most difficult seasons of overall business we have ever faced.”
Now, six months later, MacQuarrie says, “It’s actually getting a little better. The restaurant is starting to get some good applicants, and we’ve hired someone at the café for the first time in a year and a half.”
He understands some of the reasons for the labor shortage.
Many working mothers were afraid to put their children in daycare with rising cases of coronavirus, and kids were attending school on their home computers for much of 2020.
“You don’t want to go off and leave your kids home alone,” MacQuarie said. “You need stability.”
“It has eased up a very little,” Mike Courtney, who owns both Ritzy’s restaurants and the Briarpatch steakhouse, said this week.
“The last 10 days, I’ve had more applications than I did during the past six months,” he said. “It’s been rough. The first week of the month, at the Kentucky 54 Ritzy’s, we had to close the dining room and do drive-thru only. It’s a struggle.”
It’s not just a shortage of workers that’s causing the problem, Courtney said. “I’ve seen more people testing positive for strep, severe sinus infections and omicron in the last few weeks than ever before. I wake up wondering when the phone calls will start with people saying they can’t come in.”
Some are doing better
Not all restaurants are struggling though.
At the Wonder Whip, Seth Woodward, the owner, says, “We have a great team of employees that have stuck with us through thick and thin. Also, our staff count is as high as its ever been, so we have not had any problems with having to reduce operating hours or limiting service.”
And Greg Floyd, owner of Ole South Barbeque, said, “I think I’m one of the few that’s still doing OK. I have 40 to 42 employees at any time. I don’t understand why I’m in better shape than so many places. I try to treat my employees good, but I imagine everybody else does too.”
Candance Castlen Brake, president of the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce, said the worker shortages started “well before COVID.”
“The past two years have accelerated that beyond what we could have imagined,” she said. “In areas across the board, employers from trades, retail, hospitality, manufacturing, technical, professional, public service — every sector is being impacted by shortages.”
Brake said, “The explanation for this is complicated. As schools moved to virtual instruction and children were at home full-time, families had to rethink everything. Many people have decided that they can get by on one income so one can stay at home. Others have found child care costs too prohibitive for what they were making and decided to leave the workforce.”
And, she said, “People in the 55 to 65-plus generation reevaluated their need for income resulting in scores of older workers leaving the workforce. That created a mobility ripple effect where others could move up to those higher-income jobs. This has impacted entry-level employment numbers significantly. And as companies compete in a full-employment tight labor market, they are seeing the need to increase their offerings, including higher wages, better benefits and flexible work schedules.”
Wages rising
National chains have been raising wages to attract workers.
KFC is advertising jobs starting at $11 an hour.
McDonald’s said its company-owned stores will raise wages to $13 an hour this summer and go to $15 an hour in all company-owned locations by 2024.
Darden Restaurants Inc., which owns Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse and Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, among other brands, said it plans to raise its minimum wage to $12 an hour — including tips — this month.
Hobby Lobby began offering full-time starting pay of $18.50 per hour to its employees on Jan. 1. And the company said it will continue to offer medical, prescription and dental insurance, a 401(k), a flexible spending plan, long-term disability benefits, life insurance, vacation pay, personal paid time off benefits with annual buyback, holiday pay, chaplain services and an employee discount.
Chipotle Mexican Grill is paying its workers an average of $15 an hour. Starting wages for hourly crew members are between $11 and $18.
Last year, Target increased its minimum wage to $15 an hour.
Walmart raised its minimum wage to $12 an hour last fall.
And those wage increases impact local businesses across the country.
“Corporations are putting pressure on local business with their pay,” MacQuarrie said. “There’s no way we could pay $11 an hour for someone with no experience to start. But the corporations can’t compete with the work environment. It’s generally better with local restaurants.”
Courtney said, “I gave my employees at Ritzy’s and Briarpatch raises of $2 to $3 an hour last summer. Look at Hobby Lobby. We can’t do that. We would have to raise our menu prices to get to that level. Grocery prices are going up, and that affects us too.”
He said, “I start a 16-year-old with no experience at Ritzy’s at $9 to $10 an hour. In 30 days, there’s a raise and one every three to six months after that. At Briarpatch, I start at $11 to $12. That’s for busing tables and washing dishes.”
Brake said, “Small businesses are being impacted by wage growth most significantly. Locally-owned food and beverage and retail businesses particularly have a tough time competing with national franchise pay. This makes it more important than ever to patronize our locally-owned small businesses and to understand that if their prices increase, it is beyond their control.”
She said, “Our takeaway is that our community needs to be laser focused on this issue. How do we create innovative pipelines for retirees or students to fill critical shortages in hospitality and retail? How do we provide pathways for local graduates to connect with employers? How do we connect refugees who are moving here to employers who need their skills. How do we offer treatment and a second chance to people who were crippled with addiction and are unemployed? We know that if Greater Owensboro sets our mind on something, we will find a way.”
By Keith Lawrence Messenger-Inquirer