Staffing shortages force restaurants to cut hours and close for days

The Restaurant Association of Nova Scotia believes staff shortages have reached a critical level.

"When it gets critical in hospitals they shut down emergency wards," said Gordon Stewart, executive director of Restaurant Association of Nova Scotia. "Well now restaurants are shutting down days, hours of operation."

Stewart said despite offering increased wages and benefits, many businesses are having trouble finding staff.

Darrell’s Restaurant closed on Tuesday and is planning to close again July 12 due to staffing shortages.

Cooks are in high demand. A job hunt that’s become so competitive, the owner and CEO of Chef Inspired Group of Restaurants Bill Pratt said some are biting into each other’s business.

"We have big restaurant groups coming in from Toronto and they’re poaching staff in the city by offering up to $2,000 in bonuses," Pratt said.

"We’re at a point where they’re offering bonuses to their staff to go out to the restaurant and poach staff so they can line their own pockets."

Pratt has upped his employees’ wages and offers benefits, but even still at every one of his 23 restaurants there are shortages.

"The problem is we’ve had a lot of people leave the industry and what we need to do is we need to open the doors for immigration," he said.

Beginning this week, The Mic Mac Bar & Grill will be closed for lunch on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesday due to staff shortages. The restaurant will instead open at 4 p.m., those days.

Closures mean staff members get a break, but customers like Amanda Joyce are turned away.

"I’m home from China. This is my first time home in three years and I was really looking forward to coming here for a BLT and a Caesar," Joyce said.

At Ardmore Tea Room, owner Mike Cormier just hired a new cook who is scheduled to start Wednesday.

"Hopefully he shows up. Because I’ve hired three people and two of them haven’t showed up," Cormier said.

If the staff member does show up, it’ll mean the owner will no longer have to work in the kitchen himself. Either way, the business has also cut back hours.