'This is a big problem': Vancouver restaurants experience staffing shortages after reopening
With dining rooms open again, customers have returned to Metro Vancouver restaurants – but many laid off kitchen and wait staff have not come back.
“It’s extremely very hard for us now to find enough staff to re-launch all our restaurants,” said Emad Yacoub, the owner of the Glowbal Restaurant Group, which has 10 eateries in Vancouver, West Vancouver and Burnaby.
After a roller coaster year of restrictions and layoffs, Yacoub says some restaurant workers have left the industry for good. Others are choosing to remain on employment insurance for now.
“There has to be a message from the federal government of how we are going to take people off EI,” said Yacoub, who has increased hourly pay by 15 to 20 per cent for back-of-house kitchen staff at all his restaurants to try to attract more applicants.
“Still, there is nobody coming through the door,” said Yacoub, who has 100 empty positions at his restaurants right now.
Sylvia Potvin, the owner of the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts in Vancouver, has sympathy for restaurant workers who have been through the ringer.
“It’s been difficult to be coming back and let go, and I can totally understand that. And based upon people I’ve been talking to in the industry, different chefs, there is a real concern. They need staff,” she said.
Before COVID-19, her cooking school was 40 per cent international students. She says the sooner they can return to learning and working here, the sooner they can help with the labour crunch in restaurants.
“We totally need these students, they are well-trained, they’re fluent in English, they can’t study here unless they have fluent English skills. And they’re career-ready and want to get that experience in our country, in Vancouver,” Potvin said.
Yacoub says restaurants also benefit from having international culinary students.
“They’re allowed to work for 20 hours per week. So they come in, they study, then they get 20 hours per week in a restaurant, most of them work in the restaurant business,” he said. Yacoub and Potvin would like to see the federal government fast track international student approvals.
If restaurants can’t find enough workers, Yacoub is worried they won’t be able to operate like they did before the two-month indoor dining shut down. Customers may notice changes too.
“I’m getting phone calls from all my friends that own restaurants, they’re saying, 'I’m going close on Sundays because I don’t have enough staff to operate seven days a week.'” Yacoud said. “This is a big problem.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
King Charles' cancer treatment progressing well, says Buckingham Palace
King Charles III’s doctors are 'sufficiently pleased' with his cancer treatment and he is expected to return to public-facing duties, Buckingham Palace announced on Friday.
AFN chief says Air Canada offered a 15% discount after her headdress was mishandled
After the Assembly of First Nations' national chief complained to Air Canada about how staffers treated her and her ceremonial headdress on a flight this week, she says the airline responded by offering a 15 per cent discount on her next flight.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
DEVELOPING Bird flu outbreaks: WHO weighs in on public health risk
The current overall public health risk posed by the H5N1 bird flu virus is low, the World Health Organization said on Friday, but urged countries to stay alert for cases of animal-to-human transmission.
76ers All-Star centre Joel Embiid says he has Bell's palsy
Philadelphia 76ers All-Star centre Joel Embiid has been diagnosed with Bell’s palsy, a form of facial paralysis he says has affected him since before the play-in tournament.
Island near Mull of Kintyre for sale for US$3.1 million
An idyllic 453-acre private island is up for sale off the west coast of Scotland and it comes with sandy beaches, puffins galore, seven houses, a pub, a helipad and a flock of black-faced sheep.
Regina police officer injured after being accidentally shot by fellow officer's gun
An investigation is underway after a Regina police officer was accidentally shot by a fellow officer’s gun during the search of a house early Friday morning.
Taylor Swift dons Montreal designer's dress in 'Fortnight' video
A pair of Montreal designers' work has now been viewed over 41 million times. Taylor Swift dons a Victorian throwback black gown in her latest music video, 'Fortnight', designed by UNTTLD due Simon Belanger and Jose Manuel Saint-Jacques.