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.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
2 military horses that broke free and ran loose across London are in serious condition
Two military horses that bolted and ran miles through the streets of London after being spooked by construction noise and tossing their riders were in a serious condition and required operations, a British government official said Thursday.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now baseball's oldest living major leaguer is turning 100
The oldest living former major leaguer, Art Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.
What a urologist wants you to know about male infertility
When opposite sex couples are trying and failing to get pregnant, the attention often focuses on the woman. That’s not always the case.
Made-in-Newfoundland vodka claims top prize at worldwide competition
A Newfoundland-made vodka has been named one of the world’s best by judges at this year’s World Vodka Awards.