Just as diners are finally returning, many Washington restaurants can t find workers to serve them. Author: Eric Wilkinson Updated: 7:07 PM PDT April 26, 2021
BURLINGTON, Wash. The financial comeback is finally on track at Burlington s Railroad Pub & Pizza. Customers, hungry for some normalcy, are filling the seats.
There s just one problem. We re just looking for anybody who wants to work, said pub owner Nick Crandall.
Washington s hospitality industry lost 140,000 jobs during the pandemic and fewer than 40% of those workers have returned.
Crandall is down at least 10 people between the pub and the nearby Train Wreck Bar & Grill, which he also owns. He s been forced to hire people with zero experience, while at the same time, consider paying them more as an enticement back into the workforce.
The new rules for open-air dining came after a Burlington pub owner fought the state and won. Author: Eric Wilkinson Updated: 6:57 PM PST January 15, 2021
BURLINGTON, Wash. Burlington s Railroad Pub & Pizza can now open its doors to seated customers in its open-air dining room.
Washington s Department of Labor and Industries (L & I) has relaxed dining regulations for certain restaurants after Railroad Pub & Pizza owner Nick Crandall argued that the restaurant s dining room, with garage-door sized roll-up windows, had just as much airflow as the outdoor sidewalk tents that have been allowed.
It was part of his struggle to stay afloat, after nine months of varying indoor dining restrictions on restaurants statewide due to the coronavirus pandemic.
L&I considers modification to indoor dining rules for well-ventilated restaurants January 8, 2021 at 12:24 pm
A tented area for outdoor restaurant dining stands empty on the first day of new stay-at-home orders on December 7, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries says the current COVID-19 dining rules in place statewide could soon be modified for restaurants that have good ventilation.
Nick Crandall, owner of Railroad Pub and Pizza in Burlington spoke with The Dori Monson Show on KIRO Radio earlier this week, explaining how he was forced to close his dining room due to COVID-19 restrictions surrounding indoor dining, even though he has open garage doors on three walls.