Local restaurants see a decrease in job applicants

NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) —Theaters reopening and restaurants now welcoming more guests too.

Governor Roy Cooper lessening restrictions, as COVID numbers continue to improve. That has left restaurants looking to fill shifts, and some are struggling. Some restaurants are reporting a shortage in the number of applicants, attributing the decrease to the threat of COVID-19 to servers.

Richard Walsh, co-owner of The Trolly Stop in Wilmington, says he is struggling to hire wait staff.

“I got a couple ads running on Indeed and Facebook. I’ll have somebody apply, tell them come here fill out an application for interview, –they’ll never show up. You know, and its every business. You go down the road, every business is struggling, it could be a hardware store, it could be any kind of business, everyone’s looking for employees,” said Walsh.