Items

• 
  2022-05-23

  COVID-19 Staff Shortage at Gen Korean Barbecue

  Due to COVID-19, Gen, a Korean barbecue place, has had a staff shortage. Today I went there for lunch and noticed that there was fewer people working many tables than in times I have gone in the past. This speaks to the bigger labor issues that have come about since COVID. Some of it may be realizing that jobs like this aren't offering nearly enough to work there. Another possibility is that staff shortages might be happening from vaccine mandates, which depending on how many vaccines some place require, would be less appealing. The sign says that it is only due to COVID-19, but there are many components to that, so narrowing down the reason there are staff shortages could be difficult unless I asked the manager.
• 
  2020-07-01

  Tipping 50%

  High-end food servers rejoiced when this article hit. The back of the house food staff and ma-and-pa restaurant servers did not. Why? Because prep cooks, line cooks, bussers, barbacks, dishwashers, and everyone who makes a restaurant run don't get tips. In some cities and states it's illegal to pay tips to the back of the house. Back of the house gets paid minimum wage while some waiters can make hundreds of dollars in tips a night. As for ma-and-pa restaurants, waiters still make more then back-of-the-house but 50% tips would make food unaffordable for their customers leading to no tips at all. This article means well but requiring 50% tips of customers would only further hurt the food industry.