Most everyone has experienced it — waiting for service — whether it be at a grocery, department store or pharmacy.
And many people know the reason why — employers are hard-pressed to find workers amid what has been called the Great Resignation. Last year, roughly 47 million Americans left their jobs as they retired early, started their own businesses or sought greener pastures, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
But perhaps no shortage is more noticeable than at restaurants.
Among Colorado restaurant operators, 64% say their restaurants don’t have enough employees to support customer demand, said Denise Mickelsen, communication director for the Colorado Restaurant Association.
“We are hearing that it is harder to find and retain employees now than it has been at any point since the pandemic began,” Mickelsen said.
That’s true for Jake Topakas, owner of Jake and Telly’s Greek Taverna in Old Colorado City. After he had to keep his store closed Mondays and Tuesdays due to low staffing during the summer months — the busy season for Old Colorado City and Topakas’ restaurant — he hoped to reopen seven days a week.
But then two cooks and a dishwasher quit.
“It is like something I’ve never seen in the 25 years doing this,” Topakas said. “We get a new guy, we’ll hang on to them for a little bit, and then next thing you know, they’re gone. They don’t come into work on time, they just no-call-no-show.”
Topakas said because of the instability in his workforce, his core group of dedicated employees can’t keep up with some of the demands of the job.
“We’ve always made everything from scratch here in house, we used to take a lot of pride in the dessert being that way,” Topakas said. “And we still do, but I did have to add on two purchased desserts that are made in some factory somewhere because my staff that’s here, they can’t keep up.”
Topakas is at about 30% from being fully staffed.
“It’s been a really frustrating past year of my life,” he said.
Topakas emphasized his need for back-of-house staff the most.
That’s also the case for Baillie Richardson, manager of Dos Santos, a taco shop that’s operated for four years on East Moreno Avenue in downtown Colorado Springs.
In the past, “I would get up to 30 applicants overnight sometimes,” Richardson said. “… now I get one or two a day, maybe five tops per day.”
As a small business, Richardson said it’s difficult for Dos Santos to keep up with the incentives larger companies can offer.
“It’s harder to get people who are interested, because so many different places are trying to offer so many things,” Richardson said.
That’s why Dos Santos recently upped its wages, Richardson said; that, she said, has helped keep more experienced staff on board.
The taco shop also tries to give employees adequate time off.
“We offer pretty flexible schedules and are super accommodating to what people need,” Richardson said.
“…We’ve kind of like created a culture where, if you need time off to be away from here, then another person will pitch in and when it’s their time to have time off you help them.”
Richardson said Dos Santos usually seeks to downsize its staffing in fall, but the restaurant is short on workers due to some employees graduating school or switching careers.
“I think after people spent so much time at home, they realize how important work-life balance is,” Richardson said. “And maybe they’re trying to find a place to live or whatever it might be — a career that brings them more joy than they had in the past.”
In addition to worker shortages, restaurant owners are frustrated by rampant inflation. Increasing wages is only one of the many rising costs Bob Rusnak faces operating five Dickey’s Barbecue Pit locations in Colorado Springs along with several more elsewhere on the Front Range.
“We’re paying more than twice what we used to pay (last year) to buy our ribs and our briskets and our pork butts,” Rusnak said. “…We’re a value proposition for our guests and we can’t raise prices fast enough or high enough to cover that.”
For restaurant owners who weathered the pandemic, inflation and worker shortages are hampering a hoped-for recovery as COVID-related lockdowns and public health mandates have dropped into the rear-view mirror.
A recent National Restaurant Association poll found 46% of Colorado operators say business conditions are worse now than they were three months ago, primarily due to rising food, labor and other operational costs, Mickelsen said.
The pre-tax profit margin is roughly 5% for a typical restaurant. Higher operating costs — food prices up 21.8% from 2019, labor costs up 18.3% — are unsustainable for most restaurants, Mickelsen said.
“So, when you go out to your favorite local restaurant, please be kind and patient with the people serving you,” Mickelsen said. “They are doing their best to provide you great service with a reduced team.”
