Dining out hasn't yet returned to normal, and here's why
In June 2020, when restaurants in the hard-hit state of New Jersey began serving diners after three months of being only allowed takeout, their concern was keeping people safe.
They provided masks for employees, bought hand sanitizer and single-use menus, built plastic partitions and measured 6 feet between tables.
Fast forward to this summer, when restrictions were relaxed and dining rooms were bustling. Things were looking up.
But restaurant owners are battling new challenges now, from lack of staff to increased costs, and the effects are being passed felt by diners.
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"It is a tremendously difficult time for all of us," said New Jersey's Rena Levine Levy, co-owner of The WindMill restaurants. "People who worked through these times were not rewarded for their efforts. Just the opposite occurred."
These are some of the issues restaurant owners are facing right now.
Changes to operating hours
Last week, Levine Levy and her brother Steven had to make a decision they hadn't faced in more than 40 years in business: to close two of their WindMill restaurants one day a week.
That may not seem like a hard decision; many restaurants take a day off each week. But not The WindMill.
"We are beyond upset to change our pattern of being open seven days a week (since our family purchased the first WindMill in 1976) but are left with little choice," Levine Levy shared via email. "Asbury Park and Belmar each have only two employees on their schedules; Asbury will be closing on Thursdays and Belmar on Wednesdays."
A family member came out of retirement to work at the restaurants, and one day this week, Levine Levy said her brother was the only person on the schedule. They had to close the restaurant for the day.
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"Eventually everyone will be affected because more and more owners will be faced with making similar decisions," she said.
Meanwhile, nearby at Sweet Jenny, owner Joe Dringus hasn't been able to open for breakfast service for some time. The restaurant is now closed Sundays as well.
"(It has) definitely been a struggle," he said. "Everyone is doing the best they can and have to continue to evolve and be creative."
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Lack of ingredients, and everything's expensive
As American growers and farmers continue to face staffing shortages, restaurants like Brazzi Brick Oven Pizza fell victim. Although they make up for it by including fresh, warm garlic bread and pasta with their meals, the restaurant can no longer afford to include side salads, due to the increased price of produce. Currently, patrons can choose to add a side salad for $2.95.
Owner Bobby Brazzi explained that while the produce shortage was a big factor in this decision, preventing food waste was a factor as well.
“Everything is through the roof, and I was giving (the salad) for free, so either my products had to go up... or I just had to cover my costs. If you want the salad, it’s just $2.95 for a beautiful tossed salad,” he said. “I’m ordering lettuce, tomatoes, cabbage and mixed greens, and I’m putting them all in this beautiful container with my balsamic vinaigrette and people are just throwing it in the garbage.”
Like many restaurants, in-house staffing shortages were also a major issue that affected the small business throughout the pandemic, increasing wait times and decreasing profits.
“I couldn’t get any help and I couldn’t get a salad guy. I had to pull people off the floor to help me do the salads. I had my father doing the salads; it was just crazy,” Brazzi said. “On the line too, I was doing two peoples’ jobs because I couldn’t get anybody. I’m advertising now and I still can’t get anybody.”
Brazzi even went as far to close on Tuesdays after being open seven days a week since opening in 2010, citing lost time with family as a main reason.
“Since the pandemic, I was hanging in there seven days a week, but after five months of running seven days, my father told me, ‘You’re going to die. You cannot do this. You have to get some rest,’” said Brazzi. “And that’s when I decided to shut it down for one day.”
Brazzi detailed several other issues plaguing small businesses, including product shipment delays, delivery service fees and being unable to keep up with big corporations, as his business orders everything fresh, while larger corporations buy in bulk.
“It’s really terrible what the pandemic did to us business owners. All these online ordering services made a ton of money; they took my profits,” Brazzi said. “I (now usually) have a 45-minute wait to go in because I’m getting more takeout, and I’m seating less tables because people are still afraid.”
Over the summer, Dan Malay of How You Brewin on Long Beach Island, N.J., shared a somber note with customers on social media.
"I’m frustrated by having to write this, and we’ve held out as long as possible. But with soaring cost of goods on account of historic inflation, we are forced into a position we’ve never undertaken before – having to raise prices mid-season," he shared.
Avocadoes are one example; avocado toast is one of the coffee shop's most popular items.
"We went from $30 a case to $70," he said, adding that the price jumped in the past two months. How You Brewin serves around 100 avocado toasts each day.
The cost of other items has increased, including turkey and romaine lettuce. The cost of coffee increased 15%; "we've chosen to absorb that," Malay said.
"What we've seen in terms of local economy is that so far, everybody is willing to endure it, absorb it," he said of his customers. "Does that have sustaining power? I don't know."
Still not enough workers
Amy Russo, owner of Toast restaurants in Asbury Park, Red Bank and Montclair, N.J., says staffing shortages have caused the food industry to become “a bizarro world.” Operating on reduced hours with nearly half the staff, Russo has had to make several changes to her restaurants, including only operating outside when the weather is nice, or inside when it’s not — never both.
“The summer is still in full swing even though Labor Day used to officially end the summer, (but) with so many people working remotely, my entire outdoor dining room is full and I can’t do both in and out without the staff,” she said.
Russo usually has about five servers, but she now only has about three — on a good day. While the staffing shortage increases workloads, Russo said she would rather serve fewer tables a day than provide bad service or overwork her staff.
“I run my business a little differently because I empathize with the servers," said Russo. "I was one for so long."
Russo compared sales from 2019 to this year and found the restaurants had double the sales with half the servers. Due to this, servers are making upwards of $20 to $40 an hour in tips, which is why Russo does not believe money or unemployment benefits are the issue. She has observed many servers leaving the industry for their former careers or remote work.
“If you had one foot out of this industry before, you definitely decided to ... pursue something else, especially with all the shutdowns," Russo said. “It was hard before the pandemic, but now it’s really difficult, dealing with places that are understaffed… You’re working harder.”
She also said people are angry about the pandemic and state of the world, so they are resentful of returning to work. “The world has been wronged and everyone thinks ‘I deserve a break,’ ” she said.