Those part-time summer jobs in restaurants have been traded in for textbooks, and we’ll miss them though we encourage their learning. High school and college kids have resigned their side hustles as school bells ring.
Open Table, which keeps tabs on restaurant reservation numbers, finds the industry is back to pre-pandemic levels.
If only there was someone to wash the dishes.
“We just completed the next round of our survey across the state and unfortunately about 67% of our restaurants do not have enough people to operate at this point based on consumer demand,” says Emily Williams Knight, CEO of the Texas Restaurant Association.
Friday night and we’d rather not cook, but the worker shortage is still a problem in more than our own kitchen.
The restaurant industry is facing a three-way squeeze.
“One of course is the supply chain and being able to get the items these consumers want,” says Knight. “The second is around labor and the third is inflation.“
Have a wonderful night dining out tonight, but pick up after yourself, and tip as generously as you are able.
photo: Getty Images