MACON, Ga. — From late deliveries to a lack of employees, Central Georgia restaurants are feeling the impact of the labor shortage.
During the week at Georgia Bob's BBQ in north Macon, it's not unusual to see a lunch rush. While customers fill up on a brisket sandwich, management is busy dealing with another challenge.
"We have to order in bulk now because of the shortage of truck drivers. We have to order in bulk because they don't have enough people to bring it to us to deliver," Tammy McClendon with Georgia Bob's BBQ said.
McClendon says that is causing them to buy more storage space to store food. She says the labor shortage is also continuing to impact their daily operations.
"We are pretty much looking for everything from cashiers to backline cooks, we are even looking for management," McClendon said.
In downtown Macon, restaurants like Kinjo Kitchen + Cocktails are feeling the impact on food and alcohol.
"Distributors have a difficult time getting their delivery trucks on time because they do not have that many drivers and the liquor and beer and wine distributors are having a difficult time finding people to load the trucks from the warehouse," Owner of Kinjo Chelsea Hughes said.
Antonio Saravia, Associate Professor of Economics at Mercer University, says demand is high for goods while the labor force is still recovering from COVID-19.
"Workers are still a little bit afraid of COVID, so they want to wait a little bit more until they see a higher percentage vaccinated so they can go out there and apply," Saravia said.
Saravia says parents who have to watch their kids or people who are receiving unemployment are also more likely to stay home. Right now, he says it is just a matter of consumer spending catching up to the supply.
Saravia believes prices and the labor force will get back to normal at the end of the year.