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Last week, the Santa Cruz County Chamber co-hosted an event with the San Benito County Chamber and Green Business Alliance of Monterey Bay. The workshop entitled — Yes We're Open - Hacks for Restaurants To Open Anew Successfully AND Sustainably was an opportunity to learn firsthand how local restaurant owners handled the pandemic and the return to reopening after the Governor lifted most of the restrictions on indoor dining and restaurant services. One clear outcome that occurred in the last 16 months of the pandemic was the ability of the restaurant industry to adapt, innovate and find ways to survive. As we know, unfortunately, some long-established restaurants did not make it. But for those who did, last week’s panel conversation was an exploration of novel ideas that turned to success and other strategies that shifted business models to meet the customers’ needs during the cloudy pandemic times. > We covered some interesting topics — hiring processes, finding new employees or bringing back employees who were temporarily laid off > Preparing your workplace during and after the pandemic and > Addressing the ever-changing industry guidelines for reusable or recyclable utensils, plates and cups and handling food waste > Employment wages and tips vs. unemployment Our panelists were David Whiting (Co-Owner, The Farm Bakery & Pixie Deli), Darren Pound (Vice President & General Manager, Dream Inn/Jack O’Neill Restaurant), Pamela Burns (Owner, Wild Plum Cafe), Matthew Sutton (Senior Vice President, California Restaurant Association) and our moderator, Deborah Luhrman, (Editor & Publisher, Edible Monterey Bay). Regrettably, as noted below about a shortage of labor, two of our panelists could only listen from their respective restaurants as they work the frontlines in serving their customers. To underscore the urgency of getting restaurants back, a recent Los Angeles Times story headline read: “There’s no labor shortage — just not enough good jobs.” A short-staffed restaurant owner is delivering pizza himself, while his co-owner wife has stepped into their vacant general manager role. In another restaurant’s kitchen, a cook with no experience is working the stovetops. As the American economy awakens from the slumber of COVID-19, the job market is shape-shifting in ways economists and business owners say they haven’t seen before — and the transition in California is particularly patchy. Job seekers are ignoring positions they once jumped at. Employers are straining to hire as they gauge whether the difficulties are temporary or signify a more lasting shift. “Don’t think everything’s OK now because businesses are open,” stated one business owner from the San Francisco Bay Area, who has considered raising the above-minimum hourly wage. “If anything, now we’re in the hardest part.” Some employers have already raised wages and reconfigured jobs to make them more appealing. And while restaurants, hotels and retail stores desperately seek workers to meet surging demand, other sectors are under less pressure as consumers readjust to the lifting of COVID restrictions. Just don’t call it a “labor shortage,” economists caution. “There’s simply no labor shortage when you’re talking about finding house cleaners for a hotel — there is a shortage of workers who want to work at what you’re offering,” said Sylvia Allegretto, a UC Berkeley labor economist. She said the country is experiencing a “wage and benefits shortage.” Millions of Americans are seeking work, and the Labor Department is reporting the highest number of advertised job openings in 20 years of data. Friday’s jobs report indicated the hiring crunch might be starting to ease: US employers added 850,000 jobs in June, the biggest gain in 10 months. Economists say it’s only a matter of time before open roles are filled, and the least desirable jobs with the lowest pay and benefits will be the last to go. They don’t see the job market as a sign of shifting economic forces unleashed by the pandemic, or of a workforce made comfortable or lazy by stimulus payments. “Nothing about this is going to be permanent,” said Heidi Shierholz, a senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute. The added unemployment benefits have the biggest effect on the lowest-wage workers, since a higher percentage of their paychecks comes from this supplement. Those out of work often see their weekly unemployment income double with the pandemic stipend. Despite the boost in income, these payments don’t appear to be deterring low-wage workers from applying to jobs. Data show those benefiting the most from unemployment insurance are returning to work more than anyone else. Shierholz said that over the last two months, 75% of the jobs added nationwide were in leisure and hospitality, by far the lowest-wage sector. We posed a set of questions to our panel and their responses showed a different trend here on the Central Coast. After the June 15 Beyond the Blueprint reopening of businesses, Matt Sutton noted CRA members’ issues were: ‘The ability to find and hire people.’ While everyone is pushing the restaurant to open to full capacity, he knows of no restaurant owner who is at full capacity. The reasons are threefold: child care barriers, employee hesitancy to return to a safe workplace, and enhanced unemployment benefits. David Whiting, who opened The Farm Bakery right before COVID hit, was able to shift his restaurant, deli, gift shop to complete outside dining by taking advantage of the space in the front of the restaurant and a “backyard” where picnic tables and chairs were safely spaced six feet apart. His second restaurant — the Pixie Deli, which he acquired in early 2019 — was a lunchtime spot for beachgoers as well as regular customers based in Rio Del Mar. His outside dining space was shifted to accommodate social distancing, but it was his takeout business that thrived. They were able to retain most of their employees who worked shifts to meet customer demand. The challenge with takeout was obtaining paper products in a restaurant industry supply chain that was not working. Darren Pound noted too, ”The supply chain was a mess, paper products were available sometimes and if not, we used foil— which leaks.” Pound commented on challenges beyond the supply chain, increased food costs which resulted in reducing menu options to avoid intense menu markups. A phenomenon Ms. Luhrman referred to as the necessary “dumbing-down” of menus. During the slow reopening, staffing remained a top priority, but for the first time in memory, the Dream Inn could not find a bartender. As the reopening moved into the spring, the Dream Inn was able to take advantage of the hotel design where they turned the pool deck into a concert space where safely distanced guests watched the concert from their individual room balconies facing the Monterey Bay. Darren noted, “close to 90% employee retention during the pandemic as we brought staff back for room and food & beverage service.” However, the front-of-house staff was harder to find. Clearly, the local restaurant owners are optimistic about the end of the summer tourist season and a financially healthy fall. We asked each panelist what are the best practices for staffing and other ordinances to watch out for; Matt Sutton stated his top three: > Everyone is outbidding each other — it is a job applicant’s market right now > At the state and federal level — use the return-to-work stimulus check to incentivize hiring > Emphasis on second chances — restaurants being a sector to provide jobs to those who need them (veterans, ex-cons, people getting back on their feet) In closing, Dave Whiting said it best, “If we are going to place additional restrictions on the restaurant owner with new regulations, especially with paper waste and single-use reduction, the government agencies need to make it SIMPLE: 'Here are the items we recommend and here is where you can get the supplies.” The Santa Cruz County Chamber engages our members with industry specific forums and workshops. Stay tuned to our next event highlighting the reopening of campuses, schools and throughout the region.
Last week, the Santa Cruz County Chamber co-hosted an event with the San Benito County Chamber and Green Business Alliance of Monterey Bay. The workshop entitled — Yes We're Open - Hacks for Restaurants To Open Anew Successfully AND Sustainably was an opportunity to learn firsthand how local restaurant owners handled the pandemic and the return to reopening after the Governor lifted most of the restrictions on indoor dining and restaurant services. One clear outcome that occurred in the last 16 months of the pandemic was the ability of the restaurant industry to adapt, innovate and find ways to survive. As we know, unfortunately, some long-established restaurants did not make it.
But for those who did, last week’s panel conversation was an exploration of novel ideas that turned to success and other strategies that shifted business models to meet the customers’ needs during the cloudy pandemic times.
Our panelists were David Whiting (Co-Owner, The Farm Bakery & Pixie Deli), Darren Pound (Vice President & General Manager, Dream Inn/Jack O’Neill Restaurant), Pamela Burns (Owner, Wild Plum Cafe), Matthew Sutton (Senior Vice President, California Restaurant Association) and our moderator, Deborah Luhrman, (Editor & Publisher, Edible Monterey Bay). Regrettably, as noted below about a shortage of labor, two of our panelists could only listen from their respective restaurants as they work the frontlines in serving their customers.
To underscore the urgency of getting restaurants back, a recent Los Angeles Times story headline read: “There’s no labor shortage — just not enough good jobs.” A short-staffed restaurant owner is delivering pizza himself, while his co-owner wife has stepped into their vacant general manager role. In another restaurant’s kitchen, a cook with no experience is working the stovetops. As the American economy awakens from the slumber of COVID-19, the job market is shape-shifting in ways economists and business owners say they haven’t seen before — and the transition in California is particularly patchy. Job seekers are ignoring positions they once jumped at. Employers are straining to hire as they gauge whether the difficulties are temporary or signify a more lasting shift.
“Don’t think everything’s OK now because businesses are open,” stated one business owner from the San Francisco Bay Area, who has considered raising the above-minimum hourly wage. “If anything, now we’re in the hardest part.” Some employers have already raised wages and reconfigured jobs to make them more appealing. And while restaurants, hotels and retail stores desperately seek workers to meet surging demand, other sectors are under less pressure as consumers readjust to the lifting of COVID restrictions. Just don’t call it a “labor shortage,” economists caution. “There’s simply no labor shortage when you’re talking about finding house cleaners for a hotel — there is a shortage of workers who want to work at what you’re offering,” said Sylvia Allegretto, a UC Berkeley labor economist. She said the country is experiencing a “wage and benefits shortage.”
Millions of Americans are seeking work, and the Labor Department is reporting the highest number of advertised job openings in 20 years of data. Friday’s jobs report indicated the hiring crunch might be starting to ease: US employers added 850,000 jobs in June, the biggest gain in 10 months. Economists say it’s only a matter of time before open roles are filled, and the least desirable jobs with the lowest pay and benefits will be the last to go. They don’t see the job market as a sign of shifting economic forces unleashed by the pandemic, or of a workforce made comfortable or lazy by stimulus payments.
“Nothing about this is going to be permanent,” said Heidi Shierholz, a senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute. The added unemployment benefits have the biggest effect on the lowest-wage workers, since a higher percentage of their paychecks comes from this supplement. Those out of work often see their weekly unemployment income double with the pandemic stipend.
Despite the boost in income, these payments don’t appear to be deterring low-wage workers from applying to jobs. Data show those benefiting the most from unemployment insurance are returning to work more than anyone else. Shierholz said that over the last two months, 75% of the jobs added nationwide were in leisure and hospitality, by far the lowest-wage sector.
We posed a set of questions to our panel and their responses showed a different trend here on the Central Coast. After the June 15 Beyond the Blueprint reopening of businesses, Matt Sutton noted CRA members’ issues were: ‘The ability to find and hire people.’ While everyone is pushing the restaurant to open to full capacity, he knows of no restaurant owner who is at full capacity. The reasons are threefold: child care barriers, employee hesitancy to return to a safe workplace, and enhanced unemployment benefits.
David Whiting, who opened The Farm Bakery right before COVID hit, was able to shift his restaurant, deli, gift shop to complete outside dining by taking advantage of the space in the front of the restaurant and a “backyard” where picnic tables and chairs were safely spaced six feet apart. His second restaurant — the Pixie Deli, which he acquired in early 2019 — was a lunchtime spot for beachgoers as well as regular customers based in Rio Del Mar. His outside dining space was shifted to accommodate social distancing, but it was his takeout business that thrived. They were able to retain most of their employees who worked shifts to meet customer demand. The challenge with takeout was obtaining paper products in a restaurant industry supply chain that was not working.
Darren Pound noted too, ”The supply chain was a mess, paper products were available sometimes and if not, we used foil— which leaks.” Pound commented on challenges beyond the supply chain, increased food costs which resulted in reducing menu options to avoid intense menu markups. A phenomenon Ms. Luhrman referred to as the necessary “dumbing-down” of menus. During the slow reopening, staffing remained a top priority, but for the first time in memory, the Dream Inn could not find a bartender.
As the reopening moved into the spring, the Dream Inn was able to take advantage of the hotel design where they turned the pool deck into a concert space where safely distanced guests watched the concert from their individual room balconies facing the Monterey Bay. Darren noted, “close to 90% employee retention during the pandemic as we brought staff back for room and food & beverage service.” However, the front-of-house staff was harder to find.
Clearly, the local restaurant owners are optimistic about the end of the summer tourist season and a financially healthy fall. We asked each panelist what are the best practices for staffing and other ordinances to watch out for; Matt Sutton stated his top three:
In closing, Dave Whiting said it best, “If we are going to place additional restrictions on the restaurant owner with new regulations, especially with paper waste and single-use reduction, the government agencies need to make it SIMPLE: 'Here are the items we recommend and here is where you can get the supplies.”
The Santa Cruz County Chamber engages our members with industry specific forums and workshops. Stay tuned to our next event highlighting the reopening of campuses, schools and throughout the region.