New Orleans area restaurants apply for piece of $28.6B Restaurant Revitalization Fund
New Orleans area restaurants apply for piece of $28.6B Restaurant Revitalization Fund By Amanda Roberts | May 3, 2021 at 10:19 PM CDT - Updated May 3 at 10:19 PM
NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - Now packed with hungry customers at Morrowâs Restaurant, co-owner and executive chef, Lenora Chong remembers the exact opposite during the pandemic.
âThere were days when I was very discouraged and sat on the floor and said wow how are we going to make it,â said Chong.
With in-person plates and drinks in high demand again though, she says theyâre still trying to get back to a comfortable revenue level.
Baton Rouge / louisianaradionetwork.com
Apr 22, 2021 7:10 PM
The restaurant industry continues to face hurdles with the pandemic but instead of a lack of customers, it’s employees. Louisiana Restaurant Association President Stan Harris said members are having trouble finding enough workers.
“Eighty-three percent of them have job openings that they are really having trouble filling, and they say ninety-three percent of them feel like recruiting and retaining is going to be as difficult after the pandemic as it was currently,” said Harris.
A survey of association members indicates more than 60-percent of restaurants are having to pay significantly higher wages and 20-percent of those establishments are having to pay workers 15 to 20-percent more in wages than before the pandemic.