PHOENIX — It's been two years since the height of COVID-19 and Valley restaurants are still struggling to fill staffing roles.
"It's a day-to-day grind," Jeffrey "JJ" Holmes, owner of JJ's Grubb Shack in Mesa said.
Holmes says he currently has a solid staff of about 20, but would ideally like to be at around 50.
"It's a tough position to be in as an operator for sure," Holmes said. "We're short-handed. So I was jumping in on the line trying to get the tickets processed and get the customers happy."
The issue seems to be that people aren't interested, no matter what is offered. Still, Holmes remains optimistic and is finding ways to motivate people to apply.
Among those ideas, Holmes has considered adding benefits and 401Ks.
"We're probably paying 40% more than we were previously and we're still having trouble," he said. "We'll get applicants, but then they don't even show up to the interview. So, we're pretty much hiring anyone who is willing to let us train them."
Holmes is not the only Valley restaurant owner struggling to fill staff vacancies.
A few days ago, the owner of the famed restaurant Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix posted on Instagram saying he's reducing hours because he doesn't have enough employees and the current staff are overworked.
"You never know from one day to the next, if someone will or won't show up," he said.
Hiring has always been an issue in the industry. However, the height of the pandemic in 2020 exacerbated the problem, Holmes said.
Currently, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics currently shows Arizona's employment levels to be comparable to what it was pre-pandemic, but there's still frustration growing in the industry over the lack of interested applicants.
"So what our next step is," he said. "Instead of expanding the hours, we may have to reduce our hours."
He's not giving up though and says he's doing what he can to push forward.
"I'm a former college football player and I'm super competitive," he said. "So I just don't like to lose and in my mind, if I give up that means I lose. So I'm going to keep fighting and hopefully, I have a team behind me to do the same thing."
He'll do whatever it takes so his customers are fed and happy. In the meantime though, he asks for patience.
"The customers we've had have been extremely gracious," he said. "Realize we're hustling for you. If it takes longer if we don't get it to you right away, it's not because we're ignoring you, it's because we're hustling. It's difficult when you're so far understaffed."
If you'd like to apply, you can go to the JJ's Grubb Shack website.
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