More restaurants, including a seafood restaurant chain, are filing for bankruptcy as COVID-19-related dining restrictions take their toll. Restaurants also continue to have trouble finding enough employees to operate at full capacity, or the capacity allowed in their respective areas.
Frisco, Colorado-based The Lost Cajun, which operates 25 restaurants, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last week, Restaurant Business reported. The restaurant chain revealed liabilities of more than USD 1.4 million (EUR 1.2 million) and assets of around USD 338,000 (EUR 280,000) in a petition filed in federal bankruptcy court.
“A number of The Lost Cajun franchisees failed and those that remain open suffered significant revenue losses, with some indicating to the franchisor that closings are imminent,” the company said in the filing.
Fresh Acquisitions LLC and Buffets LLC also recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company, owned by the now-defunct FMP Management, has closed the vast majority of its restaurants, Restaurant Business reported.
At the start of the pandemic, Fresh Acquisitions and Buffets operated 90 restaurants under the Tahoe Joe’s, Old Country Buffet, HomeTown Buffet, Ryan’s, Fire Mountain, and Furr’s brands.
With the pandemic's economic impacts waning as vaccination rates rise across the U.S., many restaurants have reported a surge in customer traffic since dining restrictions were lifted or reduced in their areas. However, a new problem is now cropping up, as they can't find enough employees to operate at their allowed higher capacities.
“Labor is probably the number-one issue for restaurants right now, the number one issue for distributors, and a big issue for manufacturers,” Dot Foods Executive Chairman John Tracy said during a recent Food Institute webinar. “Every distributor is more challenged with labor right now than in my 40-year-plus history in the business. We are competing with the government; People are motivated, in many cases, not to take a job, and some people are not able to go back to work because of COVID.”
Some restaurants are being forced to close down for part of the day due to not having enough staff. Those closures are in turn causing delays and disruptions for distributors making deliveries, according to Tracy.
To combat the shortage, restaurants and restaurant chains are turning to hiring and employment incentives to try and attract employees. Dunkin’ Donuts is offering hiring bonuses and incentives, and Chipotle Mexican Grill is offering free college tuition to employees who work at least 15 hours a week after four months on the job, per The Wall Street Journal.
San Antonio, Texas-based Bill Miller's Laguna Madre Seafood Company is offering up to USD 600 (EUR 497) in tuition reimbursement per semester, along with health insurance, 401(k), paid vacation, and other benefits. And Atlanta, Georgia-based Daniel Halpern, who operates 50 TGI Friday’s locations and other restaurants, is offering higher hourly wages and immediate pay, but is still short hundreds of workers.
Photo courtesy of Andriy Blokhin/Shutterstock
