Sugarloaf restaurant stops takeouts at 5 p.m. due to worker shortage

May 15—A restaurant in Sugarloaf Twp. cutting off takeout orders and deliveries at 5 p.m. each evening due to a shortage of workers.

The temporary change lets workers at Damon's Grill focus on customers who dine in person at the restaurant, which is open daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

"This decision has been made due to the lack of workforce in our area," the restaurant said in a post on its Facebook page Thursday.

Damon's, which is at 10 Woodbine St., across Route 93 from Penn State Hazleton, wants to hire people in all positions, the post says.

Finding workers has been a struggle for employers in the Hazleton area, even though the unemployment rate of 9.2% in Luzerne County is higher than the state's rate of 7.3%. Unemployment is 7.4% in Schuylkill and Carbon counties, according the latest figures, which are from March.

Currently, people receive an additional $300 a week while they are unemployed. Those benefits expire Sept. 6.

But those benefits are not the only reason why jobs go unfilled.

Since COVID-19 arrived in March 2020, workers have stayed home to avoid the disease. Parents, especially mothers, stopped working to watch children when schools and child care centers closed. Older workers retired early if they could afford to.

Since the low point of the pandemic, employment has risen. But 24,200 people remain unemployed in the metropolitan statistical area that includes Hazleton, Wilkes-Barre and Scranton, compared to 17,303 in February 2020, a month before the pandemic hit.

Those working, however, have taken advantage of rising wages to move into jobs that pay better or are less affected by the pandemic than restaurants have been.

State rules forced restaurants to close early in the pandemic and limited occupancy since, which led to layoffs and cutbacks of hours.

At Bonanza Steakhouse on Route 93 in Hazle Twp., Harry Werkeiser used a small crew to fill takeout orders during the pandemic.

Since then some of his former workers found other jobs.

"I lost a few to Amazon. They had to work. They had families. I can't blame them," said Werkeiser, who is trying to hire now that customers are getting vaccinated and feel safer about dining out.

Bonanza operates with 28 employees compared with 62 before the pandemic, he said.

"My management team is working a lot harder. I'm working longer and harder hours, and the crew that I have is fantastic. They pick up the pace for me," Werkeiser said. One employee he mentioned puts in six days and one or two double shifts each week.

Nationally, eating and drinking places added 187,000 workers in April when the nation only gained a net of 266,000 jobs, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on May 7.

Local restaurants, however, continue to search for employees.

"In all honesty, there is no labor force to be found," Clinton Bachert, owner of Tom's Kitchen on Route 93 in Sugarloaf Twp. said.

Bachert said high school-age workers have applied for jobs.

"I haven't found anyone 18 to 35 applying for anything," said Bachert, who makes up for vacancies on the staff by working about 70 hours a week himself.

Last month, Sheila Ireland, deputy secretary of labor for Pennsylvania, heard during a meeting with the Greater Hazleton Chamber of Commerce that companies can't find workers to fill jobs at $15 an hour.

Ireland said people are deciding whether to work based on extended unemployment benefits, health concerns and workplace closings.

Fast food restaurants, she said, are among industries that are automating to reduce the need for workers, but people looking for work can weigh various factors when deciding to take a job.

"Competition has shifted," Ireland said, "... in terms of the level of compensation, ability ... the ease of employment, the creation of cultures where people feel like their contribution makes a difference and that diversity and inclusion angle."

Jerry Seiwell, owner of the Brass Buckle Restaurant in Conyngham, has noticed restaurants close more, probably to give days off to workers.

"We treat our staff very well. We're doing good with our team, but there are still a couple more spots available I'd like to fill," Seiwell said.

He said his greatest competition for workers remains the additional unemployment pay. In nine states where governors plan to stop extra benefit in June, Seiwell expects employment will pick up.

"If you make the same, dollar for dollar, for doing nothing or going to work," Seiwell said, "most people will stay home."

Contact the writer: kjackson@standardspeaker.com; 570-501-3587