Covid restrictions to lift, but businesses still finding hiring workers difficult
May 5—Businesses across the region welcomed Gov. Tom Wolf's announcement Tuesday lifting covid-19 restrictions by Memorial Day, but they expressed cautious optimism alongside frustration as they now face the challenge of filling job openings.
"It should be great, but on the other hand, we're all in the same boat looking for employees," said Joe Kolek, owner of the Anchor Inn restaurant and bar in Harrison. "Opening up full blast and not being able to service your customers is going to be another challenge right now, but it's moving in the right direction."
In Pennsylvania, restaurants have been able to operate at 75% capacity since April 4 if they're self-certified on mitigation measures and continue to adhere to those measures. Otherwise, capacity has been capped at 50%.
Kolek said he's hopeful that Wolf's announcement will be read as an indication that the risk posed by the virus is decreasing, thus making employees more comfortable returning to work.
"The more people that get vaccinated, there's a comfort feeling among society that they feel better going out," he said.
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Sam Sieber, owner of Sam's Tavern in the Wall in Aspinwall, said he's been trying to hire a full staff for months. He blamed additional unemployment payments for people being unwilling to return to work.
"It's nice, except you can't find anyone to work," he said of Wolf's announcement. "So it doesn't help me at all until they get rid of this extra money they're giving everybody."
Despite a staffing shortage, Sieber said he believes customers are ready and willing to return to restaurants at maximum capacity.
"With the vaccines and everything else, they're ready to get out," he said.
Shadyside restaurant owner Matt Turbiner agreed. He said physical distancing mandates have made it hard for small restaurants like his to actually seat customers appropriately.
"I'd say that's great news," said Turbiner, who operates Shady Grove in Shadyside. "From what I've seen, I think people are ready to rock and roll."
Small restaurants weren't the only small businesses hindered by capacity limits and social distancing guidelines.
At Harbison Nursery in Harrison, employees often had to queue customers outside and limit how many checkouts were open at one time. Easing those restrictions, manager Matthew Edwards said, would make business flow much more smoothly.
In addition, he said, he thinks lifted restrictions will signal to customers they can be comfortable returning to non-essential activities — like buying flowers.
"If (Wolf) lifts restrictions, it would make people feel a little bit more comfortable than they have felt," he said. "Things will go back to normal. Just normal life — we'll get back to a normal routine."
Cultural organizations and event venue owners also were among those toasting the announcement.
Jeremy Waldrup, president and chief executive of the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, said the organization has focused its efforts on outdoor engagements, but now there is much more to look forward to.
"The outdoor dining experience Downtown has never been more vibrant than right now," Waldrup said. "Yoga in Square started last weekend, the Farmers Market in Market Square starts next week, and live entertainment will soon be returning with the Night Market. We also thrilled to see events like the Three Rivers Arts Festival return to Downtown."
Waldrup said in the past 14 months he has seen an incredible resiliency from Downtown businesses "through what has been one of the most challenging times in history."
"I feel like I'm getting goose bumps on goose bumps," Endy Reindl, executive director of the Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra, said two hours after Wolf's announcement.
The orchestra took a double whammy from covid-19. Capacity and social distancing requirements made it unfeasible for the orchestra to perform its typical subscription season.
On top of that, concerns about possible aerosol particles from wind instruments coupled with the limited space on the stage at the Palace Theatre in Greensburg made it impossible for the entire orchestra to play at any one time. Reindl and his staff scheduled a series of online string orchestra subscription concerts this year.
"It definitely has been a year of replanning and reformatting," he said. "But we were blessed to have a community that rallied around the symphony and said we want you in our lives. That was so humbling. We'd planned to move into fall with a limited audience. Now hopefully, we can embrace a larger audience."
Susan Domasky, president of Ferrante's Lakeview, a large wedding and event venue, said her phone began ringing off the hook Tuesday.
The venue includes a banquet hall with seating for up to 400 guests overlooking a picturesque lake and gazebo off Route 30 in Hempfield. It has long been popular for summer weddings.
When it reopened last year after the initial pandemic shut down, Domasky said Lakeview limited gatherings to 50 in one banquet room and 50 in another. Business plummeted dramatically.
"People didn't even want to go out," she said. "This is such good news. We were happy to hear about it. And the brides have all been calling. They're happy they can go back to their original guest lists."
Megan Guza, Julia Felton and Deb Erdley are Tribune-Review staff writers. Megan can be reached at mguza@triblive.com, Julia at jfelton@triblive.com and Deb at derdley@triblive.com.
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