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What if all of the county’s restaurants reopened their doors following a year-long pandemic that forced massive layoffs and hardly anyone showed up? To work.
It’s more than a hypothetical riddle.
As drinking and dining venues across San Diego County and the nation get the green light to more widely welcome back the customers they’ve been craving since COVID-19 first shut them down almost 14 months ago, they’ve been confronting a near-crisis labor shortage.
While it initially caught employers off guard, it shouldn’t be all that surprising.
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San Diego is experiencing something of a perfect storm as it transitions into life under increasingly relaxed reopening rules driven by rising vaccinations and diminishing infection rates. That, in turn, has unleashed a torrent of job openings not only for restaurants and bars, but also for hotels, casinos, theme parks and other service industries at a time when enhanced jobless benefits remain alluring.
is a partner with Karina’s Group. He lives in Downtown San Diego.
Even in the best of times, the restaurant business is tough. But this past year has without a doubt proven to be more challenging than any other my family has experienced since opening the first Karina’s Mexican Seafood in 1981.
My parents immigrated from Mexico with hope, motivation and a vision. Through their hard work, they beat the odds and achieved the American Dream with a small taco shop in Spring Valley that they named after their eldest daughter.
With a lot of blood, sweat and tears, my parents and my five siblings and I have grown the business to eight restaurants throughout San Diego County featuring a variety of concepts and cuisines, including Karina’s Mexican Seafood, Karina’s Ceviches & More, Karina’s Cantina, Karina’s Taco Stand, Saffron Thai, Taka Sushi and Savoie Italian Eatery.