Businesses face staffing shortages as students leave town for spring break

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (WBRC) - While students all around enjoy spring break, it isn’t time off for everyone. It’s a busy time for some businesses, but it can be a struggle if they don’t have enough employees.

It’s a time when students enjoy a break from classes, but it’s impacting some businesses who depend on them as workers.

TuscNY Pizza and Pasta owner Dan Robinson began offering indoor dining less than a year ago. And, while they’re open five nights a week, TuscNY doesn’t open until 4 p.m. because Robinson doesn’t have as many workers as he’d like to have.

On a typical busy night, eight to ten people total - almost all University of Alabama students - are working in the kitchen and serving customers.

If they leave town for Spring Break, it becomes even more difficult to staff the restaurant.

“I think in the last three or four months, I think another 10 or 12 restaurants or venues have opened here in Tuscaloosa,” Robinson said. “And we’re all fighting to get staff.”

Robinson said some restaurants are closed on Mondays and/or Tuesdays because of the lack of workers.

Many of the students are only working part-time, but Robinson said he’d like to hire more locals needing a fulltime job. But, he says, they’ve become harder to come by.

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