SAN ANTONIO — A San Antonio staple is struggling to find workers.
Bill Miller Bar-B-Q is being forced to keep its dining rooms closed as the local chain is unable to find sufficient employees. According to President and CEO Jim Guy Egbert, Bill Miller needs to hire nearly 700.
"We are saying, 'We are here to hire,'" he said. "We need people. We are trying to hire here at the commissary at our restaurants, and we can't fill the spots. It is a challenge."
The challenge of finding staff means the chain can't open its dining rooms.
"In order to reopen those dining rooms in a safe manner, we would have to hire 640 people today," Egbert said. "These are good starting jobs, great training program, great benefits. And as you grow, you move up in the company."
Egbert said there are a couple of reasons it can't find workers.
"The unemployment checks are big component of this, for sure," he said. "There is also the mentality of, 'Am I doing something that is safe? Is the environment safe?'"
Dawn Larios is with the San Antonio Restaurant Association and serves as the executive director for the West Region.
"It's sad to see someone like a Bill Miller not having their dining room open," she said.
She said the trouble of finding workers is not just a Bill Miller problem.
"Even before the pandemic, I was hearing that," she said. "But especially now. I think a lot of it is some people have found work elsewhere. Maybe people are now having to stay at home and school their children with virtual learning."
Larios said the restaurant industry has been hit the hardest during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
"We have lost 700,000 employees across Texas," she said.
Larios added that local restaurants would like to hire and bring back employees, but can't do so without an additional Paycheck Protection Program loan. She said the association is hoping Congress will pass another round of relief.
Meanwhile, Egbert doesn't know what it is going to take get the entry-level jobs filled. For some jobs, they are advertising starting pay as $14 to to$18 an hour.
"It is several months away or towards 2021 before we will be able to open our dining rooms at Bill Miller BBQ," Egbert said.