Plus, a vaccinated-members-only club opens in Los Angeles; March sales for restaurants are up
Each week, Restaurant Hospitality gathers five stories that impact independent restaurant operations that you may have missed.
Here’s your list for the week of April 26:
Labor proves to be a challenge for owners and management
Across the industry, there has been a shortage of willing workers for restaurants. The industry still remains 15% below pre-pandemic job levels, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ March 2021 numbers.
Finding back-of-house labor has been especially difficult, operators said.
Troy Guard of the Denver-based TAG Restaurant Group, said, “Labor is so challenging because now we’re having to pay dishwashers $18-$20 per hour and having to put service charges on check to help with BOH.” Guard said TAG gave back-of-house workers raises of $2 to $5 per hour “to keep people working and happy.”