Metro Restaurants Struggling To Fill Open Positions

As things start to get back to normal, staffing issues are preventing restaurants from returning to full capacity.

Traffic is beginning to pick up throughout the metro as residents start dining in at their favorite restaurants.

“As people are being vaccinated, and as they are becoming much more eager to eat out and dine indoors, restaurants are having a very hard time staffing up and getting enough people to run their restaurants,” Oklahoma Restaurants Association president Jim Hopper said.

Hopper said this isn't just an Oklahoma City problem: It's nationwide.

“It's difficult to find people that are willing to come back to work, for whatever reasons,” Hopper said. “They got laid off and they decided that they wanted to move on from the industry. Just being reluctant to come back because they haven't had their vaccine yet.”

Hopper also said customers who refuse to follow COVID-19 precautions can make the atmosphere tense for employees. It is also creating a dilemma for restaurant owners.

Jason Ewald with The Good Egg Dining Group said staffing is the main reason their restaurants are not back to full capacity.

“We're currently having to throttle down business,” Ewald said. “Even sometimes turning away a business that wants to dine because we don't have enough people to open up all of our seating areas and to accommodate all of those people in an influx during a dinner or a lunch rush.”

To attract more applicants, Ewald said they've held job fairs and are increasing wages.

Staffing is an issue from floor to ceiling, according to Ewald. Restaurants need to hire not just for entry-level positions but at the managerial level, as well.