During the COVID-19 pandemic, the restaurant industry was especially hard hit as closures swept across the country.
As more people receive the vaccine and begin to resume dining out, North Shore restaurant owners say they are still facing struggles. For many, those struggles include a staffing shortage that the industry is experiencing nationwide.
The National Restaurant Association recently reported that there has been a shortage in restaurant workers across the country. The industry lost 2.5 million jobs in 2020, and while all 50 states added restaurant jobs in 2021, employment levels still remain low.
In Illinois, the restaurant employment rate is more than 10% below pre-pandemic levels, according to the association.
Nationally, there is some positive news as the number of food service workers has steadily risen from March of this year to July, according to the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
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. Wages are also increasing nationally for nonsupervisory employees in the industry, rising from an average of $14.57 in March of this year to $15.41 in July, according to federal numbers.Restaurant owners and operators in suburban Cook County have also felt the effects the pandemic on their businesses. Many say they have shifted their business models in an effort to keep customers. But now, they face a new problem as diners return.
Owners said the labor shortage has impacted every aspect of operations, especially current working conditions.
“We are all working longer hours, and we’re working a lot harder physically,” said Jennifer Eisen, owner and operator of House 406 in Northbrook. “And we had to reduce our restaurant operating hours from seven nights a week to just five dinners. We are so exhausted.”
Other owners echoed the approach of changing their operating hours to accommodate a smaller staff and not overwork their current employees.
The reasoning for the shortage is expansive. While some believe it’s caused by the enhanced unemployment benefits as a result of the pandemic, others think workers used this time to reevaluate their careers.
Restaurant workers have been on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. They are face-to-face with hundreds of people, some of whom may be carrying the virus. Some workers decided to leave the restaurant industry to find careers that are more stable and have less exposure.
TJ Callahan, co-owner of Farmhouse in Evanston, also attributed the shortage to schools shutting down and a lack of child care. He said that people with families have chosen to leave the industry so that they can take care of their kids.
Owners have said that the enhanced unemployment has been an issue. Carissa Shaffer, director of operations for Bobby’s Restaurant in Deerfield, said that she can’t get applicants to come in for interviews.
“In order to keep getting unemployment benefits, they have to show that they’re trying to get work,” she said. “So if they’re able to show email threads setting up interviews, then they continue to collect benefits. But then they never show up for the actual interview, so it’s been really pretty rough.”
According to the Illinois Department of Employment Security the federal pandemic unemployment compensation provides an additional benefit of $300 per week to those eligible through September 2021.
Shaffer said her restaurant has also had to increase prices to accommodate higher wages and ingredient costs.
“We can’t get staff, and we can’t get products,” she said. “The products that we can get are so overpriced, so our prices went up over 50%.”
Restaurant owners are trying to come up with their own solutions to the problem and incentivize workers. Many said that they are spending more than ever on recruitment advertisements in the hopes of reaching more people.
As people return to restaurants and demand increases, restaurants hope that the worker shortage will begin to lighten.
While many restaurants did lay off much of their staff, some owners saw most of their workers come back.
Candace Borocci Warner of Convito Cafe and Market in Wilmette said nearly all of her kitchen has returned. However, she is still struggling to find managers.
“We usually have a team, and I like employee building,” Warner said. “I tried to build up so that maybe I’ll have a young person in line learning management, but that all went by the wayside.”
With the enhanced unemployment benefits set to expire in September, owners anticipate people will begin going back to work more regularly. Local owners are also hoping that the state and national restaurant associations will continue to push for more grants and funding to help this industry.
“I love the restaurant industry, and I know that it’s something that once it’s inside of you, you can’t really get away from it,” said Eisen. “I hope that people will come back to it.”
Emily Little is a freelance reporter.
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