Thousands of visitors and tourists coming to Gilmer County each week wouldn’t normally worry most local restaurant owners. But an ongoing staffing shortage is causing several restaurants to close early or for entire days during one of the busiest seasons of the year.
“It’s everywhere. It’s a national crisis,” said Gilmer Chamber President Jennifer Grimmer about the labor shortage.
In public conversation, it’s almost impossible not to hear that extended unemployment benefits are to blame for so many job vacancies since businesses reopened fully after the lifting of statewide COVID-19 restrictions. However, Grimmer said Gilmer County has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the state.
She said restaurant closings didn’t hit as hard here as some other areas, and she doesn’t think staffing shortages will improve as much here as they might in some other Georgia counties after the state recently stopped extended federal unemployment benefits.
There are also more jobs available in general right now, Grimmer noted. “Everyone is hiring,” she said.
One factor specific to the local area is a lack of housing that restaurant employees can afford, Grimmer said.
“We have no proximity to affordable housing or apartments or duplexes for young people. We’re not close to a major college or university or anything like that (where) you would usually get part-time restaurant workers,” she added. “We’re in a pickle because we don’t have that proximity to affordable housing for the most part, and we’re also a community that has a tourism-based economy. In the middle of having a labor crisis, you have the busiest time of year and your economy depends on tourism.”
‘Something
I’ve never seen’
Kelly Bramlett, owner of Mr P’s Take Out Food, said she thinks that sudden availability of jobs has contributed to the recent decrease in staff at her restaurant.
“Three months ago, I had 16 employees. Now I have six. I’m not sure exactly what’s happened in the last three months,” she said. “I feel like a lot of our (former) staff is doing other things due to the lack of workers. I know people are talking about housing, but for me, it’s not as much that because a lot of my (staff) lives at home. A lot of it, I think, is people hopping from job to job because they see more pay.”
Mr. P’s, which offers takeout and drive-thru orders only, has been open throughout the pandemic, Bramlett noted. Whereas emergency order restrictions caused many restaurants to close their dining room and do only drive-thru and/or takeout service, there wasn’t much adjustment involved for Mr. P’s.
The North Main Street institution started by Bramlett’s dad, Bill “Mr. P.” Prouty, 42 years ago gained customers over the past year, in which takeout became an increasingly popular option.
“We’ve always done takeout. I think it picked our business up with people trying us out, and they just kept coming,” Bramlett said.
Holding down a regular staff has always been a challenge, Bramlett noted, but it’s never caused the restaurant to close other than a day or two here and there, even during the pandemic.
“It’s really something I’ve never seen,” she said. “We’re very busy and, honestly, sometimes people can’t handle how hard it is, but that’s something I’ve been dealing with for a long time. I’ve got people who’ve worked (here) for 30 years and a lot of loyal employees. I pay people by what they can do (because) I can’t afford to continually train people who are going to leave. People who stay with me make good, but you’ve got to train first.”
Bramlett recently decided to start closing at 4 p.m., cutting out the majority of her dinner business, until she can find more help.
“I feel bad not being open at night because there are a lot of people who walk to my restaurant to eat. I hope to (eventually) reopen, and not stay with these hours. From my dad, I got that you always keep the same hours, and people will keep up with you because you’re consistent,” she said.
East Ellijay’s Smokehouse Country Grill is another local restaurant that’s had to close early during the busy summer.
Stacie Davis, who runs the Maddox Drive home cooking spot with her husband, Danney, said, lately, their hours have varied from week to week with mainly Friday and Saturday dinner hours being cut.
“Last year, in October, everybody here had record business and we had help,” Davis said. “We’re the busiest we’ve been in a long time, and we’re having to close because we don’t have the help.”
Davis said she and her husband cook and wash dishes, and she also waits tables when needed. They’d normally have additional cooks and dishwashers, but not recently.
“We come in here and work every day, (as do) probably the majority of owners in the area with small businesses, but it comes to a point where you get people who only want to work what they want to work or only for a few hours a week,” she said.
Davis said she doesn’t know if there’s a single core reason for the lack of restaurant employees, but it’s gotten especially bad in the last six months.
“It’s slowly went down to where we can’t find any help. We don’t know what the core problem is here that’s (keeping) people from coming out to work or if there are even enough people in the area to fill these jobs,” she added.
Davis agreed that the housing market is probably one factor that’s figuring into it.
“Most of your people that work the restaurant business or even in your factories have to have either two working incomes or work two or three jobs just to have a house in this area. A normal family with young kids can’t pay $1,500 a month for a singlewide with two small bedrooms,” she said. “I do wish there would be affordable housing, and I do wish people, if they truly do want to work, would step up.”
Davis said the labor shortage has also affected the way she and Danny get supplies for their restaurant.
“You’re either not getting product, or you’re getting product at higher prices. Some of the meat prices have tripled, and some of our stuff has gone up 150 percent,” she explained. “For our cooking oil, we were paying $19 for 3 or 4 gallons. Now it’s $47-$57, and it takes two and-a-half of those boxes to fill one fryer.”
Be patient while dining
The current restaurant staffing shortages apply to almost all areas of the industry, Grimmer noted.
“We had a job fair, (which featured) a lot of restaurants. Most of the restaurants that were hiring gave us a list, and it wasn’t for just one job. It was for bartenders, hostesses, cook staff and managers,” she said.
In the past five years, multiple restaurants have opened in the county, particularly in downtown Ellijay. However, if the labor shortage continues, it could lead to closings, Grimmer noted.
Post Two Commissioner Karleen Ferguson addressed this issue during a recent meeting of a local action group formed to find solutions to the lack of affordable housing.
“I’m having restaurant owners call me and say (they) may have to close in two to three months if they don’t find help and somewhere for people to live,” she said.
The chamber recently provided coasters to area restaurants that notify customers about reduced staffing and ask for their patience while dining. More than 12,000 were expected to visit the Gilmer County area over Fourth of July weekend, Grimmer noted.
“We’ve attended regional and statewide meetings on the crisis, and we’re doing our best to be part of the solution. The worst thing for us would be for people to come, and restaurants are closed. People aren’t getting served and they’re irritated and say this isn’t fun, let’s not come back. That’s what hurts us in the long run,” she added.