CARTERET COUNTY — Business is booming on the Crystal Coast, with the recent Fourth of July holiday weekend likely breaking all-time tourism records, but hospitality workers in particular are feeling the strain as a post-pandemic labor shortage continues.
The restaurant industry has been one of the hardest hit sectors, officials say. After a year in isolation, record numbers of people are visiting Carteret County this summer, ready to dine out to their hearts’ content. Though it’s been good for sales, Carteret County Chamber of Commerce President Tom Kies said it’s meant many restaurants are busier than ever with fewer than usual employees.
“This whole season has been really good, with huge numbers (of vacationers), but restaurants are… starting to feel it,” he told the News-Times Monday.
Mr. Kies said to give overburdened staff a break and prevent burnout, many restaurants have begun closing one or more days per week, including some that opted to close the Fourth of July and other major tourism holidays. Even fast food restaurants have cut back on hours, he said, closing earlier and opening later.
Shana Olmstead, co-owner of Floyd’s 1921 Restaurant in Morehead City, said she and co-owner Floyd Olmstead, her husband, decided early in the season to close Sundays in addition to Mondays, the one day a week the restaurant was traditionally closed. She said they opened a couple Sundays for other holidays, such as Mother’s Day, and were considering doing the same for Fourth of July, but ultimately decided against it.
“What a great thing it was for employee morale to have the Fourth of July off. It was absolutely the right decision,” she told the News-Times Tuesday.
In one high-profile instance, RuckerJohns, a restaurant in Emerald Isle, began closing Sundays to give employees a day off, and was sued by its landlord for violating terms of the lease. After gaining statewide attention, the landlord, York Properties of Raleigh, eventually withdrew the lawsuit, and the restaurant remains closed on Sundays.
Ms. Olmstead acknowledged she probably missed out on a huge night of sales by closing for the Fourth, but said her employees desperately needed the break. She said in an ideal scenario, she’d hire around a dozen more employees to keep up with soaring demand, if only people would apply.
Michele Querry, interim director for Carteret County economic development, said her office is in “daily contact with employers from multiple sectors who express difficulty filling their available positions.”
“Tourism is a significant driver of our local economy and during the summer months especially, there is more demand on our hospitality industry,” Ms. Querry said in an email to the News-Times this week.
She…
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