What's going on with restaurants? (Skokie, Normal: rent, home, contractor)

[Master Jay]

Hello Team,

I started yesterday on a good start. The kids and I started at the Dunn Museum of Lake County in Libertyville. Followed by Wildlife Discovery Center in Forest Park. And followed by arcade fun at Nickel City in Deerfield.

Then, to find dinner...

Chili's in Skokie ONLY was doing delivery... Red Robin told us there was a 15 minute wait. I wanted to order a drink and take it to the wait room, but I was denied since the bartender would only serve alcohol if I was seated at her table. Then, the hostess was told by the Manager to tell people that the wait list was actually one hour! So I left... Chili's in Vernon Hills only did delivery.... I called Chili's in Gurnee and they said they had no wait BUT they would not let me make a reservation on the phone. I said I was hoping to, in the event a rush came in. I was denied. By the time I arrived in Gurnee, NOW there was a wait! There bar was closed due to a lack of staff, and they would not let us have any drinks while we waited. We were told they only had 2 staff. And when they said the wait would only be 15 to 20 minutes, I said NO THANK YOU.'

The answer to our prayers: PORTILLO's!

WHAT is going on? No one is working?

[Sunbiz1]

That's a chain, the only restaurants I've found locally with decent staffing are privately owned; and had a good following before the pandemic.
The rest seem to be in real trouble these days.

[BOBNCHI]

Correct, many are not working or have decided to move on into different fields. Many restaurants just cannot find adequate staff and some are offering new hires some fairly nice bonuses.

Fwiw, My daughter worked at the Skokie Chili's but left several months ago due to what seemed to be changing policies every other month, lack of business, which resulted in fewer hours available to work and overall staffing issues. Obviously, she had to move on. A real hot mess, as it were!

[Kmanshouse]

That's too bad.

I haven't eaten at a suburban chain like that in a very long time.

Over by me, we've noticed some slippage in service in a couple of places. But nothing too bad.

Last two times we went to Gideon Welles, the food took a really long time. And it also took much longer than usual at Fin over on Wilson. But in both cases they were eventually getting to us and luckily we weren't in a hurry.

What I have noticed is that some places are only open TH-Sunday. This has been the case at Borelli's for some time now. And a new Mexican restaurant that's really good on Lawrence, called Cinco is only open 4 days I think.

To me, that's a better way to handle shortage - just be open 4-5 days a week instead of 7, and then staff accordingly.

Hopefully we don't see another round of closures.

[Master Jay]

Kmanshouse, good evening.

I wonder, is this whole opened 4 out of 7 days a week the "new normal"?. Or, is this until we can all get back to a "regular normal"?

[RamenAddict]

Originally Posted by Master Jay

Kmanshouse, good evening.

I wonder, is this whole opened 4 out of 7 days a week the "new normal"?. Or, is this until we can all get back to a "regular normal"?

Yes, it is the new normal. The Starbucks by me has sometimes been open 7-noon only. The Five Guys seems to either open at 3 or close at 8. Usually when I pass by there after 8 it is closed. Even family owned places may now be open 5-6 days a week when they’d previously be open 7 days a week.

[Master Jay]

RamenAddict, good morning,

I think I like the OLD normal better!!!!

Stability suggests normalcy and balance in life and security. The idea that restaurants are unable to have that sense of stability is NOT a good feeling!

I pray for the return to the TRU NORMAL NORMALCY for us all.

[BOBNCHI]

Originally Posted by Master Jay

Kmanshouse, good evening.

I wonder, is this whole opened 4 out of 7 days a week the "new normal"?. Or, is this until we can all get back to a "regular normal"?

Three, or even two days of having a dark store is not sustainable. Just the rent would cripple the business owners, as it already is.

[Master Jay]

BOBNCHI, I have to agree.

I used to run 2 Tae Kwon Do studios, in addition to working my social work day job.

And there were sleepless nights I had, where if I was not bringing in enough income, I was paying monthly rent and utilities for only a few students.

I ended up closing one, and then the second, studios.

I returned to being a contractor instructor, and MAN do I sleep better because of it! The Rec program does all my advertising and supplies the room, and pays all the utilities!

I shall continue to pray for the perseverance of these restaurants and independent stores, as well as the peace of mind and good fortune for all the staff that DO choose to work!

I must proudly say, my 17-year-old has worked at the same McDonald's for 3 years, and stays despite the lack of staff, and the extra work that comes with that. I told him on Sunday as we drove back home from Illinois, discussing that day's odd restaurant experiences, that I am IMMENSELY PROUD of him and the honor that he brings to himself and our family, for it.

[Caglee]

Trying to find a decent place to eat-in around the suburbs is head-ache inducing. Our attempts over the past few months have been similar to yours, finding that places have reduced hours or are closed randomly, don't have enough staff on hand or the staff on hand is rude and over-worked, offer limited menu items, and long wait times. Even small privately owned restaurants we've frequented in the past are suffering from the same issues.

We've basically stopped eating out altogether, in lieu of ordering take-out or doing drive-thru. Oddly enough, the one place we've had great success with lately is Denny's. They're always open, never busy, and don't care that we don't wear masks.

I don't understand why the law of supply and demand doesn't seem to work with restaurants. If you can't find enough staff, you need to raise your wages.