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AUSTIN (KXAN) – Thanksgiving Eve is one of the biggest tests for restaurants in central Texas this year – as owners juggle staff shortages and customer demand.
To-go orders, reservations, and dining out more than doubled for many restaurants in the Austin area on Wednesday.
“It’s our third biggest day of the year and I just expect the crowds to get bigger,” said Carol Huntsberger, owner of Quality Seafood.
Your job description has looked a little different over the past few months. Instead of working in her office, she lies on the floor and even works on her days off. She has lost about 30 employees, which makes the holiday rush a little more difficult.
“It’s like, ‘We can face this challenge, we have it, we have it.’ But there are days when you feel a little defeated, ”said Huntsberger. “It’s hard and we’re doing our best.”
According to a recent poll by the Texas Restaurant Association:
- 72% of Texas operators say their restaurant currently does not have enough staff to meet existing customer demand
- 96% of operators say their total food costs (as a percentage of sales) are higher than they were before the COVID-19 outbreak
- 91% of operators say their total labor costs (as a percentage of sales) are higher than they were before the COVID-19 outbreak. Only 3% of the operators state that their labor costs as a percentage of sales have decreased
“Austin is kind of the epicenter of those challenges … we have people moving here every day, so we have really strong demand, which is great,” said Kelsey Erickson Streufert, chief public affairs officer for the Texas Restaurant Association. “But we also have affordability issues, and that creates challenges for employees and the supply chain, especially since logistics and all of our ports are secure and not enough truckers are available. It’s kind of a system and every point in that system suffers from this labor shortage. And that adds up and is what you see in your local restaurants. “
Places like Quality Seafood see these supply chain issues with backlogs and bottlenecks in the freight departments leading to increased costs.
What does this mean for consumers? Fewer workers and possible menu changes in some restaurants as regular items may not be available.
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https://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/thanksgiving-rush-highlights-austin-area-restaurant-struggles/
