Please Be Kind

Labor shortages across all industries have been sweeping the nation and our local Sarasota community is not immune. The service industry has been hit especially hard. With Florida being one of the few places fully opened during the pandemic, it has been flooded with people both visiting and moving here permanently.

Meanwhile, restaurants have been busier than ever operating with abbreviated staff. There has been no slowdown or break. Add supply- chain issues and it’s no wonder it has taken a toll on those working in the service industry.

“It happened so fast. Established restaurants got hit the hardest because people knew we were doing things right,” says Chef Steve Phelps of Indigenous. “So much just hits you to keep the business afloat: We were [and continue to be] overwhelmingly busy with phone calls, takeout orders, and walk-ins.”

Phelps experienced a shortage of workers for positions he refers to as “corner categories”: dishwashers, bussers, and hosts/hostesses. The restaurant operated without a dishwasher for eight months. “Some worked a couple of days and just left,” he says. They recently found someone and Phelps says, “I pray every day he’ll show up. There’s fear every day walking into some mess. ‘What’s it going to be today?’ You have your guard up every day.”

The disheartening part is that some restaurant patrons have been less than understanding and downright rude, impatient, and unsympathetic to the people who are serving them. “There’s been no common courtesy,” says Phelps, who describes workdays as theatrical performances putting on a happy face while dealing with a plethora of behind-the-scenes obstacles. “Being a chef you are a plumber, electrician, psychiatrist, and you are looked to as a leader by your team.”

“The people don’t understand what we do and complain about not having a full bar or a steak on the menu and getting upset they can’t get a reservation or an outside table. The expectations are so high at a place like mine. Am I doing well enough? Apparently not.”

Meanwhile, Phelps has received national recognition for his initiatives and commitment to serve only local, responsibly sourced seafood at his restaurant.

Some restaurants have posted signs asking to please be patient and understanding. “I never want there to be an excuse, I realize everything can’t be perfect, but we strive for it. All we ask is please be kind,” says Knickole Barger, owner of Knick’s Tavern and Grill, a Sarasota institution known for its comfortable neighborhood vibe in Southside Village and its award-winning Certified Angus Beef Burger.

Barger has definitely been feeling the labor shortage burn and shares that her limited team is working double shifts, herself included. She’s waiting tables all day and cooking in the kitchen until late in the evening. For Barger and her team, the pain from being overworked is both physical and mental.

“It’s hard, you want to cry all the time, but you have to smile and put on your big boy pants.”

The staff Barger does have is like family; a few have been there 16 to 18 of the 20 years they have been open. Barger does everything she can to take care of the people who work at Knick’s, including paid holidays off, shift meals, and generous pay. In an attempt to find more staff, Barger put out a promotion on Facebook. She received 14 applications in five days: 13 replied for an interview, two showed up and the one person who was hired never came to work.

“I don’t know what it is, but it’s not just us,” she says. “We [restaurateurs] all talk and are in the same boat—closing early, serving limited menus, and working overtime.”

A combination of the community not having a young work force, plus high rents and home prices that prevent many workers from living nearby, could be to blame.

Phelps shares that across the country people got out of the restaurant business. Many used it as a side job while pursuing other things and have gone back to solely focusing on their other endeavors. Culinary and hospitality school enrollment is also down. He says no one is inquiring about internships like before.

Barger says, “We are so lucky to the have the team we do have. They are bending over backwards to help.” Her one request is “please be kind.”

Phelps is on the same page. “We are all struggling mentally to do our careers. We are fragile still.” His simple request is “Kindness—kill us with kindness. Tell us you appreciate us, be thoughtful and considerate.” Recently, Phelps received a card from someone who wrote that he and the team are rock stars. The gesture literally brought him to tears and gave him hope that “there is still humanity.”

On the other end of the spectrum, Cafe Barbosso has managed to keep a full staff.

“We were one of the lucky ones,” says Chef Joe DiMaggio Jr. “We never had a major issue. Could we use one or two people? Yes, but not a whole team. We are skyrocketing numbers, the servers are making $400 a day, and the word spreads.”

Cafe Barbosso’s scenario, like the restaurant itself, is a far cry from the norm. An open dining room is anchored by a chef’s table, DiMaggio Jr. is in the center preparing a multi-course meal, the walls are covered in oversized paintings by local artists creating art as patrons dine, and there is live music outside. “It has this magic about it. It’s more like ‘eater-tainment.’ It’s a lot of fun.”