APPLICANT AVAILABILITY
Quarantining and its impact on the workplace is also still evident as many corporate businesses still offer telecommuting options and more flexible schedules, Martone said. While this is the case in the cor- porate world, many small busi- nesses and restaurants require their employees to be physically present and ready to serve their customers. According to Martone, many of these front-line employees found themselves unemployed when the pandemic first hit and are now wary to enter a position that can be deemed nonessential should another contagious variant present itself. For example, when the delta vari- ant spread in 2021, some businesses began to temporarily close or limit occupancy again to limit transmis- sion between employees and custom- ers, Martone said. This compounded previous issues in the supply chain as some ports shut down and others remained open. Martone said she has been impressed by business owners’ abil- ity to adapt with the times. “I feel like we’re starting to come out and see a few things, but we hav- en’t seen a whole lot of people say, ‘I have to close my business’ or ‘I’m done,’” she said. “We’ve heard a lot about businesses pivoting or doing different things, selling different things or making different things.” Businesses adapting Curbside, takeout and delivery services became staples of the food service industry when the pan- demic began. L3 Craft Coffee started its own curbside service during the pandemic since it lacks a drive-thru. Co-owner Tommy Lau said curbside allowed customers to get their morn- ing coffee without potentially expos- ing themselves to others. Restaurants also turned to
The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas surveyed Texas business executives on the impact COVID-19 has had on labor market conditions. The graphs below compare responses collected in June 2021 and January 2022. The top impediments to hiring in January included: Greater Houston jobs left to recoup 44,700
Lacking in labor Business owners gauged how the availability of applicants had changed in the past month:
Improved significantly Improved slightly Worsened slightly No change Worsened significantly
73.3% Lack of available applicants/ no applicants 53.4% Workers looking for more pay than is offered 32.7% Lack of experience 17.5% Inability to pass a drug test and/or background check 15.9% Lack of child care, including school interruptions 15.5% Fear of COVID-19 infection
JUNE 2021
Greater Houston jobs recovered by end of 2021 316,700
JANUARY 2022
SOURCES: GREATER HOUSTON PARTNERSHIP, FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF DALLAS/COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
third-party apps such as DoorDash, UberEats and GrubHub to get their goods to their customers in a safe way. While practical, this method can also be costly due to fees charged to the business, Martone said. “I would say, to this point, the DoorDash and all of those—I would think they probably did really, really well,” she said. “Locally, as far as I know, our restaurants hurt, but I know specifically in Cypress, in the heat of the pandemic, we helped a lot of our restaurants by [referring the Hospital Foundation to local restau- rants to feed hospital employees].” At family-owned and -operated Giannina’s, staff have leaned on each other for support to persevere through these challenges. “We have been a team of four for 40 years. Whether we have staff or not, we make it because we each fill in the gaps,” Cicciarella said. “So that’s another thing that because we’re a family unit we’ve survived.” Cicciarella said the community sup- port also contributed to the restau- rant’s success; when it was unable to seat customers in the restaurant, staff
All the while, businesses are facing higher operating costs and are starting to have to divert some of that burden on the customers. This can be seen in price increases of certain items or lim- its on menu options as the availabil- ity of certain goods varies. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the cost of meats, poultry, fish and eggs increased 12.2% from January 2021 to January 2022. Moving forward, Jankowski pre- dicted the community will not see the same exponential growth seen in 2021, and businesses such as L3 and Giannina’s will continue to employ their pandemic changes for the sake of their customers and employees. “They’re simply going to go and do what it takes to keep the doors open,” Jankowski said. “So the small business by nature tends to be what the small business lacks in financial wealth with all the makeup for nimbleness.”
used their catering tent to set up out- door seating. Curbside delivery and takeout were also implemented and continue to be popular. “[Catering] did go down, but it did help with keeping the place open—a combination of curbside … and the catering, you know, we were able to stay in business,” Cicciarella said. “So now the business is 50% dine-in and While staffing shortages and access to supply lines are unfavorable, they are parts of the growing pains the economy is facing as it bounces back. Jankowski said he believes the econ- omy has made an outstanding recov- ery. The GHP reported about 316,700 of the region’s 361,400 jobs lost have been recovered as of the end of 2021. “No one thought the economy would rebound as strong as it has,” Jankowski. “A year and a half ago, when we talked about the recovery, people talked about it looking like a hockey stick, sharp drop and a slow, gradual increase; it looks like it’s been more like a check mark.” 50% takeout.” Looking ahead
For more information, visit communityimpact.com .
Cypress 8350 N. Fry Rd., Ste. 400 Cypress, TX 77433 Copperfield 8100 Hwy. 6 North, Ste. E Houston, TX 77095
Because wrapping your kids in bubble wrap isn’t
an option. Open 9am – 9pm, 7 days a week
27
CY-FAIR EDITION • MARCH 2022
Powered by FlippingBook