By Julian Massimo Pasquinelli
It’s been almost two years now since COVID turned the restaurant business into an extremely difficult one to stay afloat in, and many of our city’s most beloved establishments have had to shut their doors forever as a result of the pandemic. Even now, well into 2022, restaurants are still struggling to coexist with COVID.
The pandemic forced millions of people to become unemployed, many of those being restaurant employees. Restaurants already previously suffering were forced to close down, and many of the people who lost their jobs could not find an alternative means to support themselves. The U.S has always had a problem with unemployment, but the pandemic and the nationwide lockdown spiked the number of unemployment in the country, with many Americans having nowhere to turn. This major loss in jobs also forced people to relocate altogether due to not being able to afford their current living situation in a city with an already high cost of living.
Now, the Omicron variant, which is proving less deadly but extremely contagious, is again causing trouble for the hospitality industry. According to Jennifer Pasquinelli, GM of Herbsaint, “Because the COVID pandemic is an ever-evolving situation, businesses, especially restaurants, need to stay fluid in order to acclimate to the constant changes. Some of the challenges are short staffing due to illness, COVID exhaustion in general, and, of course, the supply chain problems which have hiked up the prices of all products.”
“This inflation of food and beverages especially is difficult because restaurants need to also raise their prices,” Pasquinellis said, “making it even harder for people who have suffered two years of hardship to dine out. Also, another challenge is creating new protocols constantly to ensure that the restaurant is following CDC guidelines, mask mandates, and vaccine mandates.”
Working at a restaurant is already stressful enough, but with constant problems regarding COVID, the job can become overwhelming. John Harris, owner of Lilette and Bouligny Tavern, says, “We didn’t close at all during the pandemic in large part because we were already having staffing problems, and I knew that if we closed, it would be very hard to get people back and to operate in a normal fashion. The staffing issues have been going on for a few years prior to the pandemic, so I knew COVID would only compound that. The main problem we had throughout the pandemic was, and remains, maintaining a full staff.”
Harris continued, “We’ve been short the whole time. However, our core staff is fantastic and has kept it going for us.”
From enforcing mask and vaccine mandates, to supply chain problems which inflated prices of food and beverages, COVID has been making working at a restaurant exceedingly difficult. However, restaurants are very important when it comes to sharing your culture with people around the world, motivating owners to keep these restaurants open, even through hard times. The world would be different without restaurants and keeping them open is essential.
