Andie Balenger | Daily Press Server at the Dew Drop Family Restaurant, located in downtown Gladstone, pours coffee out for two of her regular customers. Amanda Phillips, owner of the Dew Drop, has been working through the labor shortage with her “core” staff members and loyal customers.

ESCANABA –Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the restaurant industry’s ability to hire and retain employees has been an ongoing struggle. The shortage of workers has led to increased wait times, dine-in only options, and even closure for many of these businesses across the country and in our local communities.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest report, which was released on May 3, the end of March reported job openings throughout the country to be at a high of 11.5 million. In addition to this influx of job openings, the number hired into the leisure and hospitality industry, which includes food services, was 77,000, the smallest number since the end of 2020.

“Every business is going through this right now, whether it is fast food, dine-in, bars, restaurants. They are all going through the same thing,” Amanada Phillips, owner of the Dew Drop Family Restaurant, said. “So if it takes a bit longer, it is generally because we are short-staffed.”

Phillips has owned the Dew Drop since 2018, revitalizing the Gladstone restaurant after it sat dormant for five years. Just as she had settled into the new business flow, including developing a brand-new menu and hiring a complete staff, pandemic protocols limited the operations of the predominantly dine-in business.

“When COVID first started I was at about a 5% takeout, so I had to lay my staff off,” Phillips said. “Once we got back to 50% capacity, a lot of my staff at that point had gotten some other employment or went off to college. I got about half of them back when we were able to open at 50%.”

Outside of her “core” staff, or those who work year round for Phillips, those employed at the Dew Drop are oftentimes college or high school students looking for summer employment. While covering shifts for co-workers isn’t always an issue at the Dew Drop, if someone is ill, has a family event, or some sort of emergency, keeping the doors open can be difficult.

“If I don’t have anyone to cover a shift, then we will generally work the morning shift, because that is the busiest part of the day, and then close down at two,” Phillips said. “I don’t like to do that, and it can be detrimental to a business by having to do that quite often.”

With her staff already working full-time, the restaurant being open seven days a week for 13 hours a day, and an average of one call-in per day, Phillips’ and her staff often find themselves “stepping up” in order to keep the restaurant open. These extra hours, however, begin to add up.

“A lot of times I’ll find myself or my manager working those call-in positions, and there are times when we put in 80 to 90 hours a week just to make sure that we can stay open,” Phillips said.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics also reported overall employment in leisure and hospitality has decreased by 8.5 percent, or 1.4 million jobs, since early 2020. Rebecca Moody, owner of Hereford and Hops Steakhouse and Brewpub in downtown Escanaba, was anticipating this labor shortage a couple years before it began.

“I was preaching that we had a labor crisis two years before COVID hit, because I could just tell that it was coming,” Moody said. “It started for us about two years before COVID hit, and then after COVID it was just ridiculous.”

The lack of workers at Hereford and Hops has forced Moody to limit her hours of operation, the restaurant being closed both Sundays and during lunchtime on Mondays. These days often attract great business during the summer months, Monday being a travel day for most people on vacation.

“It has affected my business, and we have racked our brains trying to come up with ways to attract people,” Moody said. “To keep the staff that I have I gave everybody a raise, and I am open fewer hours so my sales are down. I am kind of caught in a pinch here.”

While the struggle to hire employees persists, retaining seasoned workers appears to be a battle within the industry as well. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the leisure and hospitality industry has a 5.7% quit level rate, the greatest of all the labor industries.

“The ones that do come back to the industry are generally the ones that just love what they do,” Phillips said. “The servers just love their customers who are regulars. They become like family.”

When working extreme hours in a high-stress environment, a positive workplace is important to ensure success of the business. According to Phillips, communication amongst all staff members is key.

“Every quarter we have a meeting just to keep everybody up to date, but we all just keep communication open,” Phillips said. “My door is always open. If [my staff] have any issues or they are feelings frustrated, it’s okay to walk outside and take breath.”

Honest communication with customers is important to Phillips and Moody as well. If food is taking longer than usual to be prepared or servers seem to be less attentive, it is likely due to short-staffing.

“It says right on our menus that we, and everyone, is short staffed. Everybody here is working as hard and as fast as they can,” Moody said. “We appreciate your patience and your consideration, because most of the people working are actually doing the job of two people.

To show appreciation for their staff, both Phillips and Moody have conducted several team-building exercises and employee outings to keep workplace morale high. In the summer, Moody funded several activities for her staff, varying from bowling to kayaking.

In addition to biannual employee appreciation days, Phillips’ workers have undergone “Heart Training,” which stresses core values in the workplace.

“My food distributer is coming in to do this training and will teach us about caring about each other and working together,” Phillips said. “I am really looking forward to that.”

Despite the labor shortage, both businesses are thankful to still be operating after the pandemic shutdowns. Many small businesses were forced to permanently close as a result of take-out and delivery-only options, which was not feasible for many.

“I am grateful. After COVID, the shutdown, and all that I am still in business,” Moody said. “I have a core of very good people who are very dependable. I feel very fortunate to be in business and we are able to do the best that we can.”