VIRGINIA BEACH — Mornings are busy in Mary’s Kitchen. Early birds file in for the “Rise & Shine” egg special and a steamy cup of coffee. Bacon strips and sausage patties sizzle on the grill. Everybody is greeted with a smile.
But earlier this month, manager Carin Copelli had to close Mary’s doors for a week. She didn’t have the staff to keep up with the influx of customers and needed time to recruit.
“It’s been a struggle,” Copelli said, speaking at a fast pace over the phone Wednesday afternoon. She finally had a string of candidates lined up for interviews.
“We can’t get people to walk in the door,” she said. “I’ve been here 20 years; I’ve never seen anything like this.”
Restaurant owners throughout the Oceanfront say they’re starving for employees at a time when they should be ramping up their staff. Tourist season is getting under way. More people are getting vaccinated and going out to eat again. A reduced staff can quickly become overwhelmed.
“The lack of labor is a big problem,” said George Kotarides, who owns three Dough Boys pizza shops on Atlantic Avenue. “We just don’t have help.”
It’s not uncommon these days to see managers and owners getting their hands dirty. “I’m an excellent dishwasher,” Kotarides said.
Some point to unemployment benefits as the reason. Some workers who were laid off or asked to work reduced hours during the height of the pandemic haven’t returned. The Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation program was recently extended through the week ending Sept. 4.
Currently, maximum benefits in Virginia total $678 a week. For some in the hospitality industry, it’s more than they would make slinging eggs.
In Virginia, servers are paid a minimum of $2.13 an hour and rely on tips. Kitchen workers, depending on their role, may be paid more than minimum wage, which is $7.25 an hour. The hourly minimum wage in Virginia will increase to $9.50 beginning May 1.
Concerns about the coronavirus might be another factor. Potential employees may not be ready to return to a job that is essentially the opposite of social distancing.
“It’s a bizarre situation where there just aren’t people available to come to work, or they just don’t want to work,” said Bill Gambrell, who has been in food service for 30 years and owns Taugtog’s and Doc Taylor’s on 23rd Street. “It’s a phenomenon that I don’t know if I’ve ever experienced or seen.”
The restaurant workforce supply has thinned in the past, but it was temporary and tied to the grand reopening of the Cavalier Hotel and Norfolk’s Waterside, Gambrell said.
In those cases, “there’s a huge demand for people to work, and the supply side is only so much,” he said.
But that doesn’t appear to be the situation now, Gambrell said. It’s about getting new workers to clock in.
“We’ve had a couple people apply and not show up,” he said. “The ability to be able to find a new employee has just been incredibly difficult.”
Copelli said Mary’s Kitchen desperately needs workers in the back of the house to keep up with the tables filling up in the front.
“Now that everybody’s getting vaccinated, our business is booming,” she said.
The restaurant at 616 Virginia Beach Blvd. has reopened but with a reduced schedule. It’s now closed on Mondays until more staff is hired.
“Mary’s isn’t going anywhere,” Copelli said. “We’re making it work.”
source pilotonline