DENVER — Finally, there’s reason to celebrate in Colorado during this phase of the pandemic. Vaccines are available, restrictions are easing, and weather is getting warmer. We’re ready to get out and support the communities we live in.
Cue the next curveball.
There are jobs. Plenty of them, in fact. Industries are rebounding. But the workforce is not returning at the same speed.
Economic rollercoaster-ride continues for restaurants – lack of staffing impacts recovery
Rocky Mountain PBS met with the co-owners of neighborhood restaurants, Coperta and Beast + Bottle, on a recent afternoon. Cooking preparations were underway, and tables were being arranged for the evening crowd to join for a scratch-cooked meal. Located in north Denver at 20th and Logan Street, Coperta serves Roman-style Italian cuisine to regular customers, many who live in the growing Curtis Park neighborhood.
“To say the last year has been a roller coaster would be an understatement. It has been all the emotions and then some and probably all the emotions two or three times over. We did the only thing that we really could have done at the time, which was lay off all of our employees, including ourselves,” said Paul C. Reilly, the executive chef and co-proprietor of the two restaurants.
They have survived. A loan from the Payroll Protection Plan kept them going through the initial ups and downs. Coperta reopened last month after what they call a winter hibernation.
“I’d almost say it's more like a lighthouse on a rocky shore that's appeared for us,” added Reilly, while discussing the recent increase in guests eager to join them for dinner.
While only at roughly 50% of their pre-pandemic staffing levels, the demand for reservations is rebounding to nearly two-thirds capacity.
“We used to serve 100 people [a night] and now it's 62,” added Aileen Reilly, the restaurant duo’s co-proprietor. Coperta and its partner restaurant, Beast + Bottle, have rehired about 25 staff members this spring. But, they need more.
“We have not been able to reopen all the areas because we haven't been able to get fully staffed,” Aileen added.
Today, Coperta has three outdoor patios. Customer demand would easily fill every seat.
“It has exceeded our expectations. We reopened hoping there was more of this optimism, as opposed to the fear from last summer. I would tell you that the demand of guests coming back out is fantastic. People want to go back out. People want to dine,” she added.
This was good news to start, but with this growing demand the Reilly siblings are looking to hire four additional positions within the restaurant — roles they had cut during pandemic shutdowns and uncertainty.
Hiring has become the newest hurdle.
“It's really hard to find four people right now and we're hearing that from other restaurant colleagues here in Denver. We have restaurant friends across the country in Seattle, Atlanta and in Asheville, North Carolina and they're all saying the same thing,” Paul added.
Two days later, they’d unexpectedly close to dinner guests, once again — on one of the first big weekends back. This time because of inadequate staffing.
Colorado Restaurant Association President and CEO Sonia Riggs has heard this many times in recent weeks: The good news of reopening is met with the difficulty of hiring.
“It’s the biggest challenge now,” Riggs added. There are a variety of reasons, she added.
After the height of the pandemic, it's not a surprise that many employees in the restaurant industry have switched career paths, finding other jobs. Health concerns of working during a pandemic factor in, too. A study from UC San Francisco found that line cooks had the highest risk of mortality from COVID-19. Some workers are also juggling childcare needs. On top of this, many other businesses are also hiring now.
“As restaurants are able to open technically at full capacity, a lot are still not doing so because they just don't have the staff to be able to be open at that larger capacity,” added Riggs.
While Coperta has not specifically experienced impacts from the extended federal unemployment payouts through the American Rescue Plan, Riggs says others within the industry are certain that this has an impact. The additional $300 per month for Colorado unemployment benefits may be giving potential new-hires more time to consider where to work and when to get vaccinated.
“It's something that I've heard widely from restaurateurs because they've heard that from employees directly. I'm hearing stories of people not showing up for job fairs [across the state]. I've also heard from people that have 20 plus interviews scheduled and only two people show up,” said Riggs.
Restaurants are getting creative, trying to attract new employees with hiring bonuses, increased hourly wages and added benefits, among other things like retention bonuses. This would likely add to expenses for small restaurants already working on a tight profit margin of typically 3 to 5%. Food costs and personal protective equipment costs have also increased, adding to the fragile bottom line. A service charge is replacing gratuity at Coperta, increasing wages and employee benefits.
For guests ready to return, take confidence in teams like those run by the Reilly family. Safety is top of mind.
“We feel really confident that we're providing a sanitary, safe workplace because we're going above and beyond to make sure that's happening for both our staff and our guests,” added Aileen.
“It’s not like a light switch turning on when you open restaurants back up again,” Riggs added.
Patience, tipping generously, and a little bit of kindness will go a long way in supporting these small businesses.
“Please keep in mind that these restaurants are really struggling to hire people and your service may not be as quick as it used to be. These folks are still working really hard, and they just need a little bit of support from you,” she added.
Riggs is also encouraging restaurants to apply to the federal Restaurant Revitalization Fund quickly. The first phase of application acceptances opened earlier this month.
Aileen, Paul and the teams at Coperta and Beast + Bottle are just happy to see more happy faces sitting down to enjoy in-person dining again.
“The more tables that we can have, the more longevity we're going to have.”
Editor’s note: Beast + Bottle is scheduled to close in early June. Their lease has ended, and the landowner is redeveloping the space. Aileen and Paul are looking for a possible new location.
Jennifer Castor is the Executive Producer of Multimedia Content at RMPBS and she can be reached at jennifercastor@rmpbs.org.
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