Staff shortages blamed for Fry Daddy’s closure
West Hants diners looking to get their fish and chips fix now have one less place to go in 2022.
Fry Daddy’s Fry and Grill, located on Gerrish Street in downtown Windsor, announced via Facebook that it has permanently closed.
Restaurant owner Bruce
Taylor confirmed the closure with the SaltWire Network, noting the Windsor location officially closed on Dec. 31, 2021.
“It was a good nine years in Windsor and I really enjoyed it,” said Taylor. “But everything has its time and the building wasn’t getting any newer. The lease was up, and it was just time to make that decision.”
Taylor said after factoring in the constant staffing challenges, pandemic restrictions, and the arrival of other new eating establishments in town, he couldn’t afford to keep the doors open any longer.
“It was very, very hard to get staff in Windsor,” said Taylor.
“I struggled for the last two years to even operate the business.”
To make a go of it in 2022, he estimated he would need five more employees, with upwards of 15 more in the summertime.
“Last summer, I had to pull my staff from Sackville to go work in Windsor,” he said.
The Fry Daddy’s location in Sackville is remaining open, Taylor confirmed.
The kitchen manager, who worked both locations, is remaining on staff in Sackville and Taylor said two other employees, who were based in Windsor, have joined them.
“There are three new restaurants that opened in the last six months (in Windsor), so every time a restaurant opens up, it takes away from the pool of employees,” said
Taylor, expanding on why staffing shortages were a problem.
He said finding employees in Sackville isn’t as difficult as there is a wider population pool to draw from, plus there are more transportation options available.
Taylor opened Fry Daddy’s Fry and Grill in Windsor in July 2013. He opened the second location in Middle Sackville almost three years ago.
While Fry Daddy’s menu features many restaurant
staples, like burgers and sandwiches, what made it stand out was the variety of seafood options and the soft-serve ice cream and shakes.
Taylor said he’s thankful for the support he’s received, noting the Windsor business certainly weathered many challenges over the years.
“I appreciated all of their support through the road closure and winter storms. We’ve been through a lot in that location,” said Taylor.
In 2017, the portion of Gerrish Street that runs between Grey Street and Water Street was upgraded. It was a $1-million-plus ‘Big Dig’ project that was approved by the former Windsor council.
The project provided overall road improvements, which included upgrades to the water and wastewater systems, as well as some beautification of the downtown street. But, Taylor said, the road closure came at a cost to his business.
“They closed our road for eight months in the middle of summer, the middle of tourist season,” said Taylor.
Still, his regulars attempted to navigate their way on foot.
“It was almost impossible. You couldn’t get to our restaurant for eight months. It was in the middle of summer. It went from April to almost November,” said Taylor.
The business bounced back, but in early 2020, the pandemic hit, causing more disruptions.
“The biggest decision on closing it down had nothing to do, really, with the volume of customers that were coming through the door,” said Taylor.
“I had to put all the eggs in one basket, I guess, in order to survive. We were so short on staff constantly in Windsor, it just made sense to focus on the one operation.”
LABOUR ISSUES ABOUND
Angela Carver, the president of the Avon Chamber of Commerce, said she’s heard firsthand from the business community about how difficult it is to find employees.
“I know one gentleman who runs a food service establishment and he needed some help and he couldn’t find anyone. He was working basically six or seven days a week,” said Carver, noting it took him months to finally hire help.
Carver said there appears to be multiple factors at play as to why there’s a shortage of workers, but the worldwide pandemic is near the top of the list. From advanced cleaning protocols and ever-changing Public Health restrictions, to parents having to stay home as students do online learning, it hasn’t been easy for either employees or employers.
“With the Omicron variant of COVID-19, so many people are testing positive with rapid tests and then they have to isolate, so again there’s staffing shortages there,” said Carver.
And for immunocompromised people, many don’t feel safe returning to the public sector to work anymore.
Near the start of the pandemic, the government put financial aids in place to help workers and businesses as the country navigated its way through the early days of the Coronavirus, with some provinces instituting various shutdowns and lockdowns. For many workers receiving minimum wage, the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) amounted to more than their usual takehome pay.
“A lot of people are blaming all the government supports as well. As long as they were in place, people didn’t really have to go to work,” said Carver.
CERB, followed by the Canadian Recovery Benefit, have both ended. But it was eye-opening to some recipients that they were better off receiving funding through a government-assistance program than re-entering the workforce. In recent months, there has been a movement across the country by workers demanding better pay and working conditions.
Carver, who is also a development officer with the Hants-Kings Community Business Development Corporation, said she understands the needs of both business owners and employees.
“I see both sides of the coin there because I do work with a lot of small businesses and I know a lot of them say — and I believe them — that they can’t afford to pay their people more money,” she said. “But I also know minimum wage would also be hard to try to live on or raise a family on.”
Carver said she was surprised to hear Fry Daddy’s closed permanently and had hoped they would be able to survive the pandemic.
She said the labour shortage isn’t confined to Hants County, and it’s not only affecting the foodservice sector. Many businesses are feeling the pinch.
Carver said she’s not sure why Fry Daddy’s was having difficulty hiring staff but noted that even companies that provide higher than average wages are struggling.
“I’ve talked to a few employers that… were at times down 30 per cent of their workforce. These are companies that offer really good incentives,” said Carver, noting they “still can’t get staff” despite paying above minimum wage.
But the labour market is still bustling. Several new businesses have opened or expanded during the pandemic. Carver said despite the challenges over the last two years, people are creating new jobs here.
“I would say entrepreneurship is alive and well in Hants County.”