Harry Passek - Owner of Passek's Classic (Image credit: CFJC)

By Connor Gunn

STAFFING SHORTAGES

Staff shortages contribute to Kamloops restaurant closure; industry issue growing

May 26, 2022 | 5:00 PM

KAMLOOPS — Staff shortages seem to be affecting every business in BC — and for restaurants it has been especially tough forcing some to close their doors.

After 14 years of business, Passek’s Classics restaurant in Kamloops is closing. The beloved local restaurant and bakery is being forced to close up shop.

Passek’s Classic Owner Harry Passek says staff shortages is making restaurants all over BC close.

“Staff are working themselves ragged and that’s why some of the places in town are closing one day a week or some are closing two days a week so they can give their staff a day off. I’ve been doing this for almost 40 years now in the restaurants, hotels and all that other stuff I’ve done all over my career and I’ve never seen it this bad.”

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After realizing his restaurant’s doors needed to close after 14 years in the industry, Passek says the decision was heartbreaking.

“It’s been a tough, a very difficult and tough decision for my wife and I to have made. We’ve been thinking about this now for over three months trying to find ways that we can continue to make this work and so on but the bottom line for us is if I can’t even open at dinner time and have employees to come on board at dinner time I needed that business to keep us open.”

All across the board — from the kitchen to serving and bartending — restaurants are scrambling to find enough help.

“Restaurants in particular are definitely struggling for people I think it’s really just a big shortage of number of resumes that come in, the number of applicants to the many vacant jobs for the number of applicants that are coming in. But those who also are coming in typically have no experience or less experience than we’ve seen in the past as well,” says Delta Hotel Vice President Bryan Pilbeam.

Executive Director of Venture Kamloops Jim Anderson, says businesses that are being forced to close are something to be concerned about.

“One of the things that makes downtown vital is those storefront street-level, service-oriented businesses that are open later that provide nightlife, that provide vibrancy in the evenings, and if we can’t work to find solutions to this staffing crunch we’ve got a problem on our hands.”

Anderson adds the traditional ways of recruiting staff may not work anymore and business owners need to adapt to survive.

“The recruitment websites, the standard websites, it’s through social media it’s speaking to the people that you are trying to reach and need to through the channels that they use.”