Posted on Jun 7, 2021
A Remote Resort Town Struggles To Find Restaurant Workers For The Summer Season
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https://www.npr.org/2021/06/07/ [login to see] /remote-resort-town-struggles-to-find-restaurant-workers-for-summer-season
When dinner service gets into full swing at Jack Sprat, the kitchen and waitstaff hit their groove, making and serving dishes such as roasted beet galette and maple bacon crème brûlée.
But for much of the past year, that wasn't the case inside the small restaurant that sits at the bottom of a ski hill in Girdwood, Alaska.
"When quarantine first happened, there were new rules and new restrictions," says head chef Lindsay Kucera, "but people were expecting the same level of service from us. And we really needed a little grace."
The pandemic shuttered an estimated 110,000 restaurants, either permanently or temporarily, across the United States, according to the National Restaurant Association. Jack Sprat was one of them. Now it has reopened and is having trouble finding enough staff to return to pre-pandemic hours of operation.
The restaurant serves what it describes as "fat and lean world cuisine." You can order Korean bibimbap, a deep sea curry with halibut or a cheeseburger with a zesty poblano aioli. Pandemic lockdowns meant Kucera had to shift from in-restaurant dining to filling takeout orders.
When dinner service gets into full swing at Jack Sprat, the kitchen and waitstaff hit their groove, making and serving dishes such as roasted beet galette and maple bacon crème brûlée.
But for much of the past year, that wasn't the case inside the small restaurant that sits at the bottom of a ski hill in Girdwood, Alaska.
"When quarantine first happened, there were new rules and new restrictions," says head chef Lindsay Kucera, "but people were expecting the same level of service from us. And we really needed a little grace."
The pandemic shuttered an estimated 110,000 restaurants, either permanently or temporarily, across the United States, according to the National Restaurant Association. Jack Sprat was one of them. Now it has reopened and is having trouble finding enough staff to return to pre-pandemic hours of operation.
The restaurant serves what it describes as "fat and lean world cuisine." You can order Korean bibimbap, a deep sea curry with halibut or a cheeseburger with a zesty poblano aioli. Pandemic lockdowns meant Kucera had to shift from in-restaurant dining to filling takeout orders.
A Remote Resort Town Struggles To Find Restaurant Workers For The Summer Season
Posted from npr.org
Girdwood
Restaurants
Food/Chow
Posted 3 y ago
Responses: 1
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
To lure potential employees, the Weitses offer at least $15 an hour to experienced staff. That's roughly $3 higher than the U.S. average, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Jack Sprat has also implemented a new policy so that tips are shared between waitstaff and kitchen staff.
"It's on average about $30 an hour," Frans says.
Jen says this change has also improved staff culture. "I've noticed less of an us versus them, front of house [versus] back of the house," she says, "which is sort of cliché in the industry."
The Weitses have also taken on other problems made worse by COVID-19.
Housing is a big issue, especially in a place like Alaska where it's both expensive and limited. So in addition to paying staff more, the Weitses say they feel pressure to provide workers with a place to live.
They've rented a four-bedroom house to help attract servers to the town about an hour south of Anchorage.
They've also considered buying property but decided to put that idea on hold for now.
"It'd take a lot of our personal retirement and funds to do that," Jen says.
With the summer hiking and camping season now in full swing in Alaska and people feeling safer to travel given vaccinations and low COVID-19 infection rates, the Weits expect wave upon wave of tourists.
But they're still worried that despite what they're offering potential employees, it won't be enough to help feed all those hungry guests who pull into Jack Sprat's parking lot.
To lure potential employees, the Weitses offer at least $15 an hour to experienced staff. That's roughly $3 higher than the U.S. average, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Jack Sprat has also implemented a new policy so that tips are shared between waitstaff and kitchen staff.
"It's on average about $30 an hour," Frans says.
Jen says this change has also improved staff culture. "I've noticed less of an us versus them, front of house [versus] back of the house," she says, "which is sort of cliché in the industry."
The Weitses have also taken on other problems made worse by COVID-19.
Housing is a big issue, especially in a place like Alaska where it's both expensive and limited. So in addition to paying staff more, the Weitses say they feel pressure to provide workers with a place to live.
They've rented a four-bedroom house to help attract servers to the town about an hour south of Anchorage.
They've also considered buying property but decided to put that idea on hold for now.
"It'd take a lot of our personal retirement and funds to do that," Jen says.
With the summer hiking and camping season now in full swing in Alaska and people feeling safer to travel given vaccinations and low COVID-19 infection rates, the Weits expect wave upon wave of tourists.
But they're still worried that despite what they're offering potential employees, it won't be enough to help feed all those hungry guests who pull into Jack Sprat's parking lot.
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