LAKELAND — Over the weekend, calls for customers to be patient with staff at Reececliff Family Diner due to a labor shortage caused online controversy and some backlash against the restaurant.

"Please be patient with our staff. Sadly, due to government handouts no one wants to work anymore. Therefore, we are short staffed," reads a sign that was posted outside of Reececliff and later posted by residents on Facebook. "So please be kind and patient with staff that wants to work and earn an income and not sit home and get a handout from the government. We are working hard to rebuild our team to serve you better."

Reececliff is a popular local diner known for its famous pies that has drawn high-profile visitors like Vice President Mike Pence and Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Owner James Bronkhorst said the sign was put on the diner's door a little over a week ago. He took it down Monday after the sign gathered significant online attention, much of it negative.

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Owner says Reececliff suffering because of labor shortage

Bronkhorst said he originally posted the sign because he was "fed up."

"We reopened in August and I'm still not fully staffed, my restaurant is not fully open," Bronkhorst said. "I've got about 60 percent of my seating open and it's not because of COVID restrictions, it's because I don't have enough employees to service a full restaurant."

Bronkhorst said he's short about six staff members — cooks and waiters — right now. He added that about 75% of his staff is working six days a week.

"Our busiest day of the week before the pandemic was Sunday," Bronkhorst said. "I'm closed on Sundays now. I don't have the staff to open my restaurant."

In addition to closing Sundays, Reececliff opens half an hour later each day and closes an hour earlier.

Bronkhorst said that it's like "no one wants to work." But that assessment got pushback online.

Jan Barrow, a local Democrat who lost a bid against Florida Rep. Colleen Burton for the House District 40 seat in 2020, posted a photo of the diner's sign in the "We Live in Lakeland, FL" Facebook group. On her post about it, she said "the shortage of workers is a multifaceted problem."

"One issue is that they don't pay enough to compete with those that have benefits and a rising hourly rate," Barrow wrote. "People on unemployment are looking for work and finding plenty of offers — just talk to anyone in the hiring business."

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Barrow added that factors affecting unemployment could include the high number of retirees in Florida, women with children dropping out of the workforce and the increase in interest in jobs with more flexible schedules, such as driving for Uber or dog walking.

Plus, federal unemployment benefits for Floridians are about to expire. In addition to reinstating the requirement that unemployed individuals prove they're looking for work to collect unemployment checks, the state has pulled out of pandemic-era unemployment benefits. Starting June 26, Floridians can only collect a maximum of $275 from the state, one of the lowest benefits in the nation, and will not be eligible for the additional $300 a week through the federal government.

Bronkhorst said he thinks that change will definitely help him find employees, adding that he thinks the labor shortage will have "blown over" by mid-July.

Economists like Jim Farrell, associate professor of finance and economics at Florida Southern College, have said that additional federal unemployment benefits may not be the only thing affecting the labor market. Farrell said in May that since workers have had a year to reflect on the value of their labor, they're likely to demand higher compensation in the job market to come back to work.

Sign seen as 'political post'

"The days of unlivable wages are ending and yes, small restaurants are suffering because of it. And the cost of hamburgers are going up," Barrow wrote. "Unfortunately this sign has drawn a line in the sand because it is a political post and while they may feel a certain way, it will cost them business and many to boycott Reececliff....it is happening already."

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Barrow said that when she posted the sign, which she found a photo of in another group with #BoycottReececliff on it, she never intended to bash or harm Reececliff. She just wanted to have a fuller conversation about the current state of the labor market.

"My intent was not to sew discord. My intent is to try and get people to think about it logically," Barrow told The Ledger. "I don't think it's as simple as you have a bunch of people sitting around getting fat and happy off $275 a week."

Barrow said she eventually took the post down because she received threats and decided it wasn't worth leaving it up.

Bob Nickell, a Winter Haven resident, said he used to frequent Reececliff for their club sandwiches when he worked in the area. While he hasn't been in a while, he doesn't plan on going back after seeing photos of the sign.

"I would no longer eat there because if somebody says that people don't want to work because they'd rather receive a government handout, I'm not going to give that person any of my money," Nickell said.

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Upon seeing Barrow's post about the signage, Nickell looked into whether Reececliff received a Paycheck Protection Program loan. The restaurant did, but Bronkhorst insists the money was used completely to pay staff and that his August reopening closely followed receipt of the loan.

Nickell posted about the PPP loan online as additional pushback against Bronkhorst's sign.

"Well I think it's kind of hypocritical if you put up a sign that says people are not working because of government handouts and then you apply for what really to me was a government handout," Nickell said.

Bronkhorst said that he didn't expect the sign to be read as a political stance.

"I kind of got fed up. And it's really not with people," Bronkhorst said. "It's with the government because you know, if I was in the same situation, maybe I would take as much money to stay home. I'm not sure. I'm not in that position but who's to say I wouldn't."

Bronkhorst said that his back-of-house staff was hired back at $1-$2 more an hour than he was previously offering, based on experience. He's anticipating that his prices will have to go up by the end of the year to support pay increases, which he wants to see happen.

"[Restaurant] wages are $10-$15 an hour and for them to go up, which I think they should, I really think they should, that model is going to have to be adjusted and people are going to have to start paying a lot more to go out to eat," Bronkhorst said. "And to me, it's a good thing because these people work hard, they work really hard and they deserve to make good money."

Bronkhorst just hopes recent wage increases won't close his family diner.

"I know it's going to change at my store," Bronkhorst said. "I hope I don't run my customers off because I want to pay my employees a living wage."

Maya Lora can be reached with tips or questions at mlora@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @mayaklora.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Florida restaurant faces backlash over sign about labor shortage