MADISON, Wis. — The COVID-19 pandemic forced many restaurants and bars to close and people to leave the industry completely.
A new report from the Wisconsin Policy Forum shows that restaurants and bars are still recovering from the pandemic.
Jeff Schmidt has been the owner of the Weary Traveler Freehouse for two years and before that, he worked at the restaurant for over a decade.
He said when the pandemic hit, many workers left the restaurant industry for good.
“There were not as many opportunities and a lot of people got out of the industry, went back to school, found other gigs where it was not service industry stuff because it was unknown what was going to happen,” said Schmidt.
According to the report from the Wisconsin Policy Forum, job numbers have fully rebounded in restaurants and bars.
Schmidt says the Weary Traveler Freehouse has never had much of a problem with staffing.
“Currently, I am the long one and there is another guy who has been here for twelve years and another girl who has been here for about six,” said Schmidt.
According to the report, recent Wisconsin Policy Forum research showed that during the pandemic, wages increased much faster for restaurant workers than for those in all other occupations. Between 2019 and 2022, median annual wages for food preparation and serving occupations in Wisconsin rose 29.8%.
Schmidt said the reason his restaurant is able to keep a full staff is because they offer a fair wage and opportunity for raises.
The report states that employment in restaurants and bars fluctuates considerably by season, with employment growing in the summer months and dipping each winter.
Joseph Perkins is the owner of Tutto with a touch of Sass located just outside of the Capitol.
“Sass has been here for almost two years. I had Tutto Pasta for six, but we combined both of the restaurants in December to make it Tutto with a touch of Sass,” said Perkins.
Perkins said his restaurant relies heavily on the University of Wisconsin-Madison for staffing and employment fluctuates with the school semesters.
He said if the college was not there, he would have a lot of trouble staying open.
“We would be struggling, a lot of restaurants still struggle, I just got lucky with combining my restaurants that I had enough staff that stuck around,” said Perkins.
Perkins said the key to bringing customers back in is maintaining the same staff.
”That is why you try to make incentives for people to stay,” said Perkins. “We have a graduation bonus, if you stay with me all four years or two years or more and graduate with us, you get a 500 dollar bonus for graduation.”
Both Perkins and Schmidt were able to survive the pandemic in part by adapting and have no plans on closing their doors anytime soon.
You can read the full report here.