WALLINGFORD, Conn — The restaurant industry is one of many business sectors that has been decimated by COVID. And yet, a restaurant in Wallingford is set to close its doors if the owner can't find the help he needs by Sunday.
The owner of Tap & Vine on Quinnipiac St. says since the beginning of COVID, they have earned the reputation of being one of the most COVID-conscious businesses around, and that has earned them many new customers. But the problem has never been the number of customers.
Tap & Vine has been serving Wallingford for five and a half years. Their owner has 43 years of restaurant experience.
"None of us has ever seen anything like this before," said Hector Samuel, the owner.
But, come Sunday, if they don’t have a chef and a line cook in place, they will have to close their doors, perhaps for good.
"Normally I have four cooks on my schedule to get through a six-day week and right now I have two and we’ve cut down to five days a week. But as of Sunday, one of my two are leaving," Samuel said.
And, he notes, it’s unfair to put the burden on that one person.
"I’ve got an 80 seat restaurant when one person can’t cook for 80 people," Samuel said.
One potential scenario, instead of closing for good, is to close for a couple of weeks to make sure they find the right candidates.
"Hector was ready to give me a job interview so here I am. I work in the kitchen industry and I don’t like to see restaurants go out of business," said Sesheta-Nai Williams, who interviewed Friday afternoon.
"We are interviewing as fast as we can as many people as we can," Samuel said. "A lot of people we interview are working and if they were to come here they would need to give notice where they’re working now."
One problem they have run into is people not showing for interviews, but Samuel says he's cautiously optimistic they will be able to weather this storm.
Tony Terzi is a reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at tterzi@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
---
Have a story idea or something on your mind you want to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at newstips@fox61.com
---
HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET FOX61 NEWS
Download the FOX61 News APP
iTunes: Click here to download
Google Play: Click here to download
Stream Live on ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching FOX61.
Steam Live on FIRE TV: Search ‘FOX61’ and click ‘Get’ to download.