CALGARY As Alberta and the rest of Canada continues to reopen, businesses are trying to quickly make up for lost time and lost revenue. But many in Calgary s bar and restaurant sector say there s a major problem: staffing. Finding team members is the biggest challenge, by far, said Brett Ireland, the CEO of the Bearhill Brewing group, which has establishments in Calgary, Banff, Jasper and Edmonton. And I m hearing this across the entire industry and even outside of the hospitality industry, he said. Ireland said they re having the most trouble filling kitchen positions, but there are shortages of servers and hosts, too. The Bearhill group usually has about 450 employees spread out at its locations, but Ireland said they re hovering around 300 people right now and can t find people to fill the positions people left behind.
Sidewalk seating plans begin
February 23, 2021 In:
Joanne McQuarrie, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter | reporter@fitzhugh.ca
Plans are in the works for businesses to get ready to use the sidewalk or parking spaces outside their premises for seating or product display this year, following a thumbs-up from Parks Canada.
The Planning and Development Advisory Committee (PDAC) recently gave temporary approval of commercial uses of eating establishments, retail and equipment rental on the roads and lanes district from April to October.
On Feb. 19, Pattie Pavlov, executive director for the Jasper Park Chamber of Commerce, and Brett Ireland, one of the original proponents of the initiative last year, met with municipal officials – chief administrative officer Bill Given and bylaw officer Neil Jones – to get the ball rolling.