Sept. 6, 2021

By the time August arrived, a summer of staffing struggles had left Todd Porter thinking the best alternative was a temporary closure.

So Aug. 26, he shut down PizzaRev, the fast-casual pizza shop he has franchised since 2016 at 3901 W. 49th St.

“It’s a staffing crisis, and it’s critical,” said Porter, whose franchises also include Slim Chickens, Johnny Carino’s and Chevys Fresh Mex.

It was a proverbial “perfect storm” that hit PizzaRev, culminating with the manager leaving for “personal reasons” and compounded by young workers returning to school and no one applying to take their place.

PizzaRev used a recruiting system, posted on job boards, boosted to get listings to the top, and “literally we were not getting any applicants,” Porter said.

When they did get a handful of online applications, of four or five scheduled interviews, one generally would show up, he said.

“And they’ll almost show up in their pajamas with their hair all messed up,” he said. “It’s ridiculous. And if you do get them to come to work, they might just walk off on a shift if it gets too busy. It’s horrible. And the smaller you are, the worse it is.”

That’s where PizzaRev took a hit too. Because there’s only one location in the market, shifting staff between stores isn’t an option. With fewer than a dozen total employees, losing any without a replacement was hard to overcome. The location, not adjacent to a neighborhood, hurt too.

While the average nonmanagement wage was $12, “I can’t afford to pay teenagers $15 or $16 an hour – and they’re going to those jobs – unless I want to raise the price of pizzas by $2,” Porter said. “It gets to the point where it’s a whole to do for not much because it sucks all the profit out. The small guys are getting killed because we can’t afford to pay these large wages.”

At the two Slim Chickens locations, he’s essentially fully staffed, though.

“The drive-thru is very helpful,” Porter said. “We can get a lot of people through a drive-thru with not quite as much labor.”

He plans to open another Slim Chickens on the east side, and he feels optimistic about his staffing prospects “because of the area we’re in with all the rooftops close by and not being a high-income area like the south side,” he said. “There are more kids willing to work, more second incomes willing to work part-time. And we feel like at Minnesota (Avenue) we have an easier time staffing because of all the rooftops in the area.”

Ted Miller, vice president of operations for Taco John’s and Five Guys Burgers & Fries in Sioux Falls, has a similar assessment of the staffing struggle.

“It’s horrible,” he said. “In the last couple weeks, I’d say things got a little bit better. Certainly different parts of town seem to be affected differently. I haven’t quite put my finger on it.”

The Taco John’s at 57th Street and Cliff Avenue struggles to get applicants, he said, while all the apartments around 41st Street and Sertoma Avenue help that one with staffing.

“We have less of a problems staffing Five Guys,” he said. “Five Guys has some better hours and is a little more modern and hip. We have a secret shopper program, they earn tips, so there’s more instant-gratification money.”

He’s determined it’s not all about wages, though.

“Quite honestly as managers and leaders, we have to redefine how we’re doing some things,” he said. “If I have an old-school employee with an old-school mentality, (they need to realize) the modern mentality has changed.”

That has meant looking for ways to give workers valuable days off, such as Mother’s Day. He closed Taco John’s early on the Fourth of July but said not making that decision soon enough still cost him an employee who quit for wanting the day off.

“To find a general manager right now is difficult,” Miller continued “It took us four months to find the right guy in Yankton. So it’s coach, coach, coach, try to keep your people in the game and do the right things to not let them get burned out. If that takes closing Sunday, I would rather do that than be permanently closed.”

He has closed Taco John’s on Sundays in Mitchell and has adjusted some late-night hours in Sioux Falls, with only two locations now open 24 hours.

“And I don’t think we’re done,” he said. “Today’s workforce is going to tell you when they’re going to work.”

A survey of restaurant workers done in the second quarter by Black Box Intelligence found several factors behind employees who quit their restaurant roles.

More than two-thirds of current and former restaurant workers said disrespect from customers is a factor in the labor shortage.

Nearly half said emotional abuse from managers contributed to their decision to stay or leave, with 15 percent saying they were sexually harassed by managers or co-workers, while another 15 percent said they were sexually harassed by customers.

Other factors included overall concerns about mental and physical health, child care and a lack of flexible scheduling.

The report also found that in the second quarter, limited-service hourly worker pay increased 10 percent compared with the same time last year.

“We’re working on culture change,” Miller said. “These people have a life outside of your work, and to be a good employer you have to participate to a level of involvement in their lives. That’s what builds strong employees. We’re in the people business to sell tacos. We can teach anyone to make tacos or burgers. You can’t teach people to have naturally great personalities or give a smile at the front counter and make eye contact. When you have those people, you have to hone in on them and get them to be part of your family.”

That was a message in a recent management meeting, he said: Work on developing the employees you do have into their best selves.

“There have been solid success stories,” Miller said. “There are people out there who want to work that for whatever reason in their life may not have had the opportunity. This is their opportunity to come to work, show up, be a diamond, and they’re going to move up. Maybe they made a mistake criminally in their past, and a lot of companies check them off, and they weren’t eligible. That’s changed now out of demand for bodies.”

Culture has helped hiring at Slim Chickens, too, Porter said.

“We’ve established a culture where we incentivize and reward and nurture and mentor people and they feel like they’re part of a team and a culture that cares about them,” he said. “So if you have that you can survive through this, but if the environment has any hospitality whatsoever with anyone infectious it can be difficult.”

Back at PizzaRev, Porter said there is enough market support for the business that the plan is to reopen eventually.

“There’s a likelihood we’ll reopen, but it’ll take restaffing and training and managers,” he said. “The restaurant isn’t going anywhere right now, but I need to make sure I’ve got the staff that are quality, dedicated people I can depend on. And until those people are available, it’s kind of difficult.”

He’s formulating a plan but calls it a fluid situation, he said.

“So I can’t really go into it, but I apologize to the Sioux Falls community that we weren’t able to continue to serve them. It’s disheartening, but sometimes you’re not left a lot of choices.”