The toll the stimulus unemployment payments is taking on the food service industry is becoming more evident. My daughter and I went to pickup some food the other night. Chickfilet was lined up and the turn lane was full. I was not going to sit in the street so I said we will go to Wendy's which was next door. We pull up and there was a hand written sign on the speaker stand that said "we are closed because nobody showed up for work today". Un friggin believable. Today we go over to have lunch with my grandson who is a freshman at University of North Texas in Denton. We go to a pizza place called Yellow Mushroom Pizza which is a chain. We were second on the list and the wait was over 30 minutes because they only had four people working there. The restaurant was less than 50% occupied. Our waiter was also the bartender who was doubling as a waiter. We ordered a 14 inch pizza and 10 inch pizza and my wife ordered a hoagie. When the pizza's came the 14 inch one was burned and the 10 inch was fine. Go figure. My wifes sandwich only had vegetables on it and came way after the pizzas. The waiter was a really cool guy and very apologetic. They competed the large pizza and I left a nice tip.
My point is it is just crazy right now. I will be glad when the extended stimulus unemployment check run out and people are not paid more for staying home than working. Now that I have typed all this I feel better.

 

Or, these establishments that can't find help can start paying a living wage.......... just sayin........

 

Several restaurants here have closed because they can't find any help- including one that had been in business since 1958 and was the local Lions and Kiwanis clubs' meeting place. It's not lack of business, it's lack of help.

I rode into town for breakfast a couple of Fridays ago and at the 0700 breakfast rush, Huddle House had one cook and one server working, and they were worked to death.

Yet there's "now hiring" signs everywhere you go. There's work if you want it.

Blame a mentality that pays people more for not working than they'd make if they were working. I had to work for everything I have and had to put up with a lot of **** and little tin gods to get it. Paid taxes out the wazoo too, and pay as much in retirement as I did when I was still working. Something wrong with this picture...

 

How much would that be? A local restaurant is offering $24 / hour for cooks and no one has applied.

How much would you pay for a burger so that a fast food worker can make “a living wage” (whatever that’s supposed to mean)?

 

Bingo Kenneth. You will see $20 hamburgers with a $15 wage. Then people will eat out less because they can afford it. It is funny I just finished watching the news and one restaurant is actually using robots to assist waiters. Not kidding.

 

Some fast-food CEOs make hundreds or thousands of times as much as the average worker. From a two years ago. Try living on minimum wages.

https://www.delish.com/food-news/g22...ll-ceo-salary/

Robots have been the goal of CEO for years. Just the tip of the iceberg. Give it 5 years or so. Robots will take most of the unskilled labor. Hopefully opening other jobs.

 

I have said this for years.

An unfortunate side affect of this world we are living in now is corporate America has learned that people are willing to tolerate long waits, lousy service, and reduced manpower. Self checkout lanes at the stores is a perfect example. I refuse to use those damn things unless they start offering a discount. Same thing with those stupid ordering Kiosk.

There are several fast food restaurants around here that never open their doors, drive thru only. I’m guessing they have decided they can be just as profitable by keeping the doors closed and not paying the staff to clean and do the other things inside the store. And I’m not convinced it’s due to shortage of employees, if you have extra people sitting in the drive thru lanes taking orders and radioing them in, those same people could be inside doing things the old way.

 

I don't live in TX, but online research tells me the governor opted out of economic stimulus money to folks and the program ended June 2021. Since the program was at the federal level, I doubt the state stepped up with economic checks. Maybe there is something else about the OP thesis that I don't understand, but from why I find, there are no checks?

It is true even in GA that restaurant help is desired. A while back even the walk in counter shut down at the local pizza joint and it was drive-in service only. Of course, the line was around the block. I went home and prepared my own food. I'll be darn if I wait in a line like that

 

No politics or religious discussion allowed.