Restaurants in the region have faced numerous challenges in 2022, and in order to stay open owners have had to adapt and get creative.
According to Harris Welden, owner of Pearl and Bantam Grill in Peterborough, “The story of this year has just been lack of staff.” Business is strong, Welden said, and people want to go out to eat, but when an employee calls out sick or has a family emergency and needs to miss work, “We’re at the point where we can’t naturally fill in like we used to.”
Welden explained that this has led to an overworked staff, and his employees just seem tired. He’s considering closing the restaurant the whole week of Thanksgiving to give them a break. Welden has tried offering incentives like a 10 percent discount for employees’ families and a $250 bonus for dishwashers who recruit a friend, but hasn’t had much luck. He’s not sure what could bring people back into the field, and he’s struggling to see things changing in the near future.
“I think people have opportunities in other careers, and it turns out the hospitality industry isn’t what people dreamed of,” he said.
Welden has raised wages to stay competitive, but “everything is more expensive,” he said. Deliveries include fuel surcharges, and economic effects from the war in Ukraine and environmental disasters have had a noticeable impact.
“It’s hard to point to what disaster is causing it now. There have been a lot of them,” he said.
To stay profitable, Welden has raised menu prices, but he’s worried that if he raises prices too high it will stop people from coming to eat. It has been a tricky balance.
But “it’s not all bad,” Welden said. “You have to have some perspective and be grateful. It’s not as easy as 2019, but 2019 was the best year we ever had.”
For Identity Coffee in Rindge, difficulties hiring staff and inflated prices have proved too great to keep running. The coffee shop, which opened in 2019, will be closing its doors before the end of the year.
Owner Brendan Ojala said, “There’s kind of two stages — pre-pandemic and post.”
The first year went well and he had hopes that the business would succeed, but once the pandemic hit and after government assistance ran out, Ojala said, “It’s been a different world.”
Ojala is living in California and operating the business from across the country. He has realized it needs a local owner, and that if he was in the area he could fill in some of the shifts to take some of the stress away from finding staff, but he’s just too far away.
Ojala has also had to deal with increasing prices. He said rent has risen, utilities have almost tripled, 15 dozen eggs that used to be $18 to $20 are now going for $40 to $50. Bacon was $6 a pound and has gone up to $10.
“Hopefully it can’t get any worse than this,” Ojala said, and since announcing the closure he has received multiple messages from people interested in taking on the business.
Ojala isn’t ready to get out of the coffee business. He and his family are moving to Pennsylvania and plan to open a roastery there.
“You have to love it,” he said.
Ojala is searching for a local owner to buy Identity Coffee, and anyone interested should email idcoffee@identitycoffeelab.com
A lot of local restaurants have cut back on their hours, so Cooper’s Hill Public House in downtown Peterborough has used that to their advantage. The restaurant and pub is open seven days a week lunch through dinner. General Manager Doug Parker said sales have been way up from last year, when they were only open five nights a week and they haven’t risen their menu prices much.
“I think we’ll be OK through October,” Parker said.
They’re expecting an increase in business with fall tourists and leaf peepers. Their tactic?
“We try and outbid everyone,” Parker explained. He said they pay high wages and offer a $150 bonus for employees that stay on for 90 days. They offer their workers free meals and insurance. Cooper’s Hill started offering insurance this year and it has been a big perk for people.
Parker also said the other businesses in Depot Square have expressed their gratitude that Cooper’s Hill is open all week.
“It’s a real boost for everyone,” he said.
Keith Wesley opened The Optimist Cafe in Jaffrey on April 15.
“When I first started, I was overstaffed,” Wesley said.
But soon business really picked up.
“It has been unbelievable, super busy, lines out the door on the weekends,” he said.
Unlike Cooper’s Hill, the cafe is not open every day. Wesley intentionally built in a three-day break in the middle of the week because it’s important for him to have time “to live life” and to give his staff that time off, as well.
Before opening, Wesley already knew it was essential to provide a space where his team could be themselves, be paid really well and feel like they could grow. He wanted to create an environment that would increase passion, which in turn would lead to people making better food.
Right now “my biggest ear is lack of seats,” Wesley said.
But he is aware that staffing shortages are impacting a lot of other local restaurants.
“There’s a feeling in my head that the generations below me are smarter,” he said. He thinks they’ve realized they don’t need to work as hard and they’re not willing to work in the kitchen.