The restaurant industry seems to be harder to work in at the moment. Our current economic status in the country is leading to growing pressure on the industry itself.
Operational costs are up, with higher prices for food and supplies, and an increase in labor costs due to little wage increases and low employment. Labor costs have risen to almost 40-45% of sales. Many who worked in the industry have left and not returned since Covid, and the rates of people quitting their restaurant jobs continues to rise.
As co-workers quit, remaining workers have to work harder to fill in for the missing positions, causing much more fatigue and even burnout post-shift and for days to come. While certain restaurants in specific areas or with a specific business model still seem to be doing okay, a big portion of the industry is not being given the tools they need to keep people working, properly paid, or emotionally and physically content.
The economy doesn’t seem to be in favor of restaurants at the moment, with about 49% of restaurants closing within five years of opening, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Restaurants are important. They are a place where you can go, be taken care of, experience a delicious meal or food you’ve never had before with loved ones. The restaurant experience reminds people of their family–the warmth of a bowl of soup as you eat around the dinner table and listen to your cousins argue; the sunshine on your face as you sit in your backyard while you eat the hamburger your dad just cooked. Enjoying a meal with loved ones assists in our memories of togetherness in a world that seems so divided.
While the customer experience is crucial to restaurant’s, we wouldn’t have this experience without the workers on the floor and in the kitchen. Restaurants are a place where people work hard to provide customers a valuable experience. The family behind the scenes is what fuels the atmosphere at the table. Without an economy that provides a stable base for workers, the industry is left with less ability to function as a family.
The restaurant industry and the restaurant experience is a special part of our society to many people. At this time, we need to be supporting our local eateries. Though regular customers won’t fix every problem the industry is facing, going to local restaurants (no chains) is one way to get the industry through these dark times.
So, go out and enjoy some food from your favorite local place, and try to remember that if the restaurant experience seems a bit different since Covid, restaurants are trying their best to float on through this period of economic rifts, and hopefully the stressful times won’t last forever.
