Food And Service Industries In The Region Continue To See Staff Shortages

Many industries nationwide are experiencing staff shortages. Resturants and fast food chains in our region are struggling to fill staffs and stay open normal hours.

FARGO, N.D.  (KVRR) — Many industries nationwide are experiencing staff shortages.

Restaurants and fast food chains in our region are struggling to fill staffs and stay open normal hours.

“Obviously you can’t drive down any street or walk down any sidewalk without seeing businesses, specifically restaurants and retail spaces that have help wanted signs in their window,” Mason Rademacher, VP of Workforce and Talent, The Chamber.

Leaders of the Chamber in the Fargo Moorhead Area say restaurants and fast food places struggled during the covid 19 pandemic, now that they’re operating at full capacity they face another issue, staffing, but they want the owners of these places to know they’re not alone in this battle.

“Some of the things we’re doing at the Chamber right now to help alleviate some of those concerns is to continue to educate individuals about all of the different job opportunities that are available to our community,” said Rademacher.

Businesses are using different strategies like raising wages to attract workers. Buffalo Wild Wings is offering managers up to $21 dollars an hour.

Blaze Pizza is offering ranges of $31 to $42k annually.

Some are looking to tap into the high school and college pool this summer.

That could be difficult.

“Obviously as the summer rolls around and the ice on the lakes starts to thaw out it means a lot more people will be leaving our community in the summer and going to spend their summer weekends at the lake and so it starts to reduce a little bit of the workforce capacity and availability that we have,” said Rademacher.

“I do flexible scheduling. I work around students’ schedules often, we’re very competitive in our wages. We work around spouses schedules and daycare schedules and all of those things,” said Heidi Roggenkamp.

Heidi Roggenkamp, owner of Randy’s University Diner was able to retain all of her staff despite covid and now she’s expanding to a second location.

“I think we’re all kind of just looking for people to join our teams, quality people that are dependable,” said Roggenkamp.

“We have those same problems, yep, getting the bartenders, and servers and restaurant people, it’s a little tough,” Dave Rice, Fargo VFW

“To be real in terms of the future outlook it’s going to remain very competitive and difficult when we look at the number of individuals available,” said Rademacher.