Lack of workers is the latest blow delivered by COVID-19 as exhausted owners continue to do whatever it takes.
The co-owner of Brix and Proper Meats and Provisions and many other small business owners are reporting a similar challenging timeline through the past 15 months. Businesses were closed in March 2020. Some were able to adjust and open throughout the summer and fall with curbside service and strict social distancing guidelines. Winter’s cold brought people indoors in a limited capacity.
“In December, everything went inside, business slowed dramatically. We made the decision to close Criollo for the winter,” he said.
And then, the holidays hit Moir with another debilitating punch. “Brix had a COVID outbreak. We closed the restaurant on Christmas Eve because we had no staff. It freaked me out when everybody got sick.”
Pre-pandemic, Paul and Laura Moir employed 45 people. During COVID-19, they were down to four, keeping the Proper Meats artisanal butcher shop and deli open for grocery take-out.
Battle weary from the fight to have three Flagstaff restaurants staffed, supplied and running at various levels throughout the pandemic, the Moirs did not re-open Brix again until April 15, 2021. At the same time, they made the difficult decision to close Criollo Latin Kitchen permanently, after a decade in operation.
Today, casual fine dining at Brix on San Francisco Street is bustling again five days a week – down from six before the pandemic, because finding workers is a daunting problem. “We’ve been incredibly busy since re-opening Brix. We’re trying to hire, train and serve on the fly. I’ve waited stations and worked behind the bar. We’re doing what we have to do to get it done and slowly but surely bringing people on one or two at a time.”
He’s finding people aren’t showing up for job interviews and many don’t want to work full-time. “I don’t know if that’s the result of lying low during COVID or that attitudes and priorities have changed as people are trying to find that balance in their life. We try to honor people’s desires to work three or four days a week, but that’s difficult when we are short-staffed and need to make sure the shifts are covered.”
As a result, some of the Moirs’ plans have been postponed, such as offering brunch and expanding Brix. “You have to also look at how difficult it is for people to find housing in this town. We have a server who worked in our Tucson restaurant who wants to come to Flagstaff permanently and work for us again, but she can’t find a place to live. She’s been trying for months and coming up as often as she can, but she can’t find a room or a house to share. The service industry folks need some amount of affordable housing to get themselves here and get settled. Hiring is a huge challenge and a multi-fronted battle. Until it eases up, we’ll keep our hours in check and delay some of the things we want to do going forward.”
Meanwhile, Nancy McCulla is turning business away. The owner of the Café Daily Fare on Route 66 and Simply Delicious catering currently has five employees, plus herself and her husband, Duffy, working more than full-time. Normally at this time of year, she would have a staff of 15, plus 15 to 20 part-time workers for catered events. But, with weddings back on the books and a popular take-out service that flourished during the last year, she says Sunday events are difficult for her to take on. “You have to give staff a day off and usually we work really late on Saturdays.”
McCulla has turned to online hiring services for help, such as Indeed and Monster. “I scheduled two interviews last Monday. Neither one of them showed up. It’s very strange. And there are folks trying to work in Flagstaff, but even if they are making good money, they can’t afford to live here. Housing prices and everything else has gone up.”
For now, she’s not opening the restaurant for inside seating and is hesitant to book events much into the future with the yo-yo nature of the pandemic. “Four months ago, I talked with a bride and groom who scheduled their wedding for 2020, then 2021, and now are pushing it to 2022. I’m not ready to schedule that far out. We were on life support when we got the PPP money and we just received funding through the Restaurants Act. But we can’t make long-term decisions when things are so in flux right now.”
She adds that restaurant owners are exhausted. “I work seven days a week and every single restaurant owner that I know is doing the work of three people.”
Nearby, at Ogden’s Cleaners, owner Dan Ogden is feeling the labor shortage at his business as well. “We put an ad on Craigslist and in four weeks, I’ve had two responses. One person came into the store, the other interviewed over the phone. Neither one followed up after I said, ‘Yes, you’ve got the position.’ Still, we’ve had no promising leads. Pre-COVID, we would have had responses the same day and someone hired within a few days.”
The impact from the pandemic has affected his dry cleaning business in other ways, too. After 19 years in operation, Ogden’s Cleaners closed its westside store in November. “When lockdowns started, business was down 80%. We were considered an essential business, so we could stay open. We reduced our hours for a while, but it cost more for us to keep the doors open than to close them.”
Inside the shop, Ogden manages 13 employees, down from 25 pre-COVID, and business is booming. “You’ll notice there’s a disproportionate number of pants here,” he said as he pointed to the clothing conveyer racks. “That’s definitely an interesting consequence of COVID in the dry cleaning business. People are on Zoom meetings and bringing us their shirts and blouses, but it’s clear to us, they’re not wearing slacks – and sweatpants don’t have to be dry cleaned!”
At Timberline Firearms and Training, owners Rob and Elise Wilson have had to reduce the shooting range’s hours, despite the increased demand for their services throughout the pandemic. They’ve also relaxed their hiring standards regarding firearms knowledge.
“Hiring has been a real challenge, especially because we need a specialized skillset. Now, we focus on integrity and personality,” said Rob. “We’ll train people about firearms.”
In the past, Timberline has advertised on Indeed to fill jobs. “We’d have several quality applicants in the first day or two,” he said. But that is not the case today. So, they have tried incentives like upping the pay.
“Even though we are located in the county, we’re matching our pay raises with what happens in Flagstaff. If the city wage goes up, we have to go up, but it hasn’t seemed to help us overcome a lack of interested workers,” he said. As a result, both he and his wife, Elise, are working many more hours to serve their customers and train staff members.
“We need to find something to incentivize people to come back to work,” he said. “The unemployment numbers show a lot of people are still unemployed. We need to find out why they aren’t taking jobs. Working for small, owner-involved businesses with good compensation doesn’t seem to be enough.”
In May, Governor Doug Ducey announced his plan to support Arizonans getting back to work and help employers fill the thousands of jobs available across the state. He says Arizona will no longer be taking the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation, beginning July 10, and instead will offer one-time bonuses to returning workers, along with child care support, educational opportunities and rental assistance.
“In Arizona, we’re going to use federal money to encourage people to work, instead of paying people not to work,” he said.
Through the Governor’s Back To Work program, Arizona will set aside $300 million of federal resources to offer a one-time bonus of $2,000 to eligible individuals who return to the workforce and get a full-time job, while those who return part-time will receive $1,000. The bonus will be awarded when the individual has left the unemployment insurance program and completed at least 10 weeks of work with an employer, and will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis.
“I think things are going to get better,” said McCulla, “I know they are, but as a small business owner, you’ve got to keep your own stress level down and you cannot make finite plans.” FBN
By Bonnie Stevens, FBN