Bend restaurants make changes to adapt to short-staffing issues

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- With familiar issues arising due to too few staff, many Bend-area restaurants have adjusted their hours and are struggling to operate as they'd like, to best serve customers.

The owner and head chef of Kefi's Fast Fresh Mediterranean, Nick Stanitsas, said Monday that closing leads to a big loss, especially in summertime, as tourism peaks.

"We're really fighting to not do that -- we can't afford to close," he said.

Although if there is no other way, he reasoned.

"The next step for us is talking about closing one day a week, just to give the people who are working six days an extra day off," Stanitsas said.

Stanitsas runs the restaurant with his parents. However, he said his dad is 65 years old and still works weekday mornings, when he really should be retired. He added that his mother is ill and unable to work.

Stanitsas said they're focused on gaining more workers, to avoid shutting down for any duration of time and to reduce the stress on current employees.

"As a result of staying open, that means I'm having to go six days sometimes. We have other employees having to go six days -- you know, we're paying a lot of overtime right now.

The restaurant owners are focused on gaining more workers to avoid shutting down for any amount of time and to reduce the stress on current employees.

Dairy Queen is another restaurant that had to adjust its hours due to staffing challenges. Area manager Nikki Johnson said the operating hours can change several times in a given time frame. Right now, the staff is mostly teenagers, so they close earlier.

Stanitsas said the short-staffing problem also leads to a trickle-down effect, when it comes to customer service. The pressure of providing service diminishes the time needed to build rapport with the customers.

"It puts stress on the employees, and so they can't always have that smile that they've had before," he said. " We have to-go orders coming in, phone calls, and we're just trying to keep it going."

Stanitsas said he hopes he'll find more workers soon and has increased restaurant wages to attract more help.