“It’s a crisis” – Savannah’s Sundown Lodge closes temporarily while searching for staff

“The last night we were open, my general manager was the only person I had on the floor. She was the hostess, the bartender and the server. She had 15 tables. We had 2 guys in the kitchen. I couldn’t do that to them anymore.”

Keith Latture has seen better days in the business. That quote right up there pretty much summed up the reason why he made the difficult decision to close his doors at his -relatively- new Sundown Lodge on Wilmington Island for a while. Define ‘a while’? “Well, I don’t know.” he said.

Of course, Keith is hardly alone in this particular boat. The ‘crisis’-an inability to find enough labor to stay afloat-is affecting everyone. It is impossible to have a conversation with a restaurant owner without the issue coming up within the first 30 seconds. Everywhere you look on-line, someone is hiring for practically every position in the building.

In Atlanta, Celebrity Chef Hugh Acheson has taken to comedy in order to entice potential employees to come work at one of his restaurants. “WILL CUT GRASS FOR WORKFORCE.”

I visited New York City Easter weekend. I witnessed the same situation more than I expected to.

In Pooler, The Chocolate Martini Bar has advertised open interviews for every position they have every single Wednesday.

It’s gotten so bad that a number of restaurants have taken to apologizing in advance to their potential customers for poor service. “We are seeing double the business with half the staff. Please be patient.” is how one restaurant owner put it on social media.

“I’m at my wits end.” says Patsy Hood, who along with her husband Jim, own the very popular Naked Dog Hot Dog and Burger stand on the Eastern end of River Street. On any given afternoon, especially on the weekends lately, visitors are lined up for a quick lunch. Last weekend when I stopped by, there was only one person preparing every meal. He was swamped.

Multiply that scenario by nearly every restaurant in the area, heading into what is already looking like it could be a record year for volume.

“I feel blessed to have the business.” Hood says “But overwhelmed at the same time.”

“It’s a perfect storm.” says Lonnie Harley at Restaurant Equipment Company of Savannah on Whitaker Street. They’ve been working with local restaurants for 50 years in Savannah and they say they have never seen it so bad.

“It’s not just servers and cooks either.” Harley says. “It’s the trucks. It’s the warehouses, it’s the supply lines. They can’t find anybody.” Restaurants are struggling to get product in the back door just to have something to serve to a guest walking in the front door.

The ‘storm’ he refers to, of course, is due in large part to life getting back to normal. Just about a year after the COVID-19 shutdown, those who made the choice to truly lock down for the duration are clearly feeling more and more confident about returning to the world they knew pre-shutdown.

“This island is absolutely packed!” is how one Hilton Head Island business owner put it. “This is NO EXCUSE to be rude or berate workers trying their best to make your visit pleasant.”

That business, Fat Baby’s Pizza and Subs, took to Facebook to announce that they would not tolerate mistreatment of their overwhelmed and overworked staff. One customer who berated a hostess for forgetting the name on his to-go order was turned away immediately.

“We refused him his food and told him to think about what he will tell his wife when he showed up at home without dinner. Seriously, a grown man berated a teenage girl over a pizza!!!!!” they said.

So what gives? How can everyone be unable to find enough help? Most restaurant owners are pointing to unemployment benefits. In Georgia, for example, recipients are receiving regular benefits PLUS an extra $300 per week. That’s down from $600 per week last year. Those benefits were recently extended until September.

“I had one employee show up for a few days before he quit and told me he could make the same money staying at home.” Latture said. “If you add it all up, you are looking at something like $30,000 a year to stay at home.” he said.

It stands to reason that you could find enough staff who see an opportunity to make a whole lot of money this Summer because of the sheer volume they will do. Of course, those employees are out there, but clearly not enough to make a dent in what is happening right now.

Latture, who also owns and operates the very popular Sandfly BBQ and is a father of two, finally said something had to give. “I didn’t open Sundown to be here from 8am until midnight every day.”

“We’re just going to keep trying until we find enough people.”

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