Some restaurants scramble to find staff ahead of indoor dining's return

OTTAWA -

For restaurants like Hintonburg Public House, Step 3 of Ontario's reopening plan has been a long time coming.

“It’s going to be great to get somewhat back to normal and have people sitting at our bar. I'm very excited about that, and yeah, I’m hoping this will push us over the threshold to start making money again and not at a loss,” owner Summer Baird said.

The bar, like many restaurants, has been operating a loss for much of the pandemic, but the return of indoor dining with no capacity limits, as long as diners are physically distanced, brings new hope.

“Running at half capacity doesn’t pay my staff, it doesn’t pay my rent, and it doesn’t pay my bills, so it will be nice to have that almost back to normal,” she added.

Down the road, The Record Center is preparing for one of their busiest days of the year.

“The big test will be Record Store Day because traditionally people line up and a lot of people come,” The Record Centre Owner John Thompson said.

Thompson says getting people back in the narrow aisles of his packed record store has been crucial, and the increased capacity will be a bonus.

“It was pretty important. We did launch a website during the pandemic and that did help a lot, you know, but there’s still nothing that replaces digging, because that’s what it’s all about,” Thompson said.

Staffing challenges in the service industry

With a push to prepare for the incoming business, there are also challenges; particularly in the hospitality industry.

“I’m going from doing 50 covers in two seatings of 100 to potentially 160 or 170. I actually have to throttle it back a little bit. I can’t just jump into it right away because I don’t have the staff,” Michael Blackie, owner and chef at Next restaurant in Stittsville, said.

Blackie, in an effort to recruit more staff, even offered a $400 incentive to new employees once hired, and additional incentives after they pass their probation. Still, he says qualified applicants are few and far between. 

“What we’re seeing is a lot of people coming in with really limited or no experience because a lot of people have left hospitality, they’ve moved on. We’ve been gone for 14 months plus, here,” Blackie added.

Recruitment has been a challenge at restaurants throughout the pandemic. Baird, a former chef, says she was so strapped for help at one point that she jumped back in the kitchen.

“First, it was hard to get even resumes, people in the door,” she said. “Then, I would get the resumes but no one would show up for the interviews.”

Baird said it took some time, but she was able to fill out her staffing and now everyone is trained in time for the reopening.

“It was a long haul. There was a lot of trial and error, let’s just put it that way,” she said.

Kendra Menard is a former bartender and says she understands why some people are reluctant to return to the service industry.

“You’re always in contact with people, sometimes eight hours a day, and there’s also the fact that a lot of places don’t offer benefits, so if you’re in contact with those people and risking yourself, you don’t have health-care coverage or anything like that,” Menard said.

“A lot of times you’re dealing with people’s food and if it’s not my own safety it’s another person’s safety. If I unknowingly came into contact with someone who had COVID or anything like that, it could easily be passed on,” she added.

Despite the challenges, many businesses are champing at the bit, waiting for Friday.

“It will definitely be a sigh of relief to see more bodies in here,” Baird said.