Patience may be a virtue, but when you’re an employee waiting to go back, minutes can seem like hours, hours like days.
Days? How about over a month’s worth of waiting? Waiting not only to return to work but for the unemployment office to respond to your claim in the interim.
That’s what employees of Red Lobster, like so many of their brothers and sisters in the restaurant industry nationwide, had to endure recently.
The restaurant closed temporarily back in late March. It sat empty of employees for more than a month, finally reopening for curbside takeout on May 4.
That allowed some of the workforce to return, and then on May 21, dine-in eating resumed statewide.
That ended the pain of waiting for many restaurant employees, but not all. Red Lobster must follow the rules and allow only 60 percent capacity.
That means some employees are still waiting. As the restart continues, that number should rise.
Restaurant General Manager Jay Morgan has been leading the charge to get the store as close to back to normal as possible.
Morgan’s been at the St. Clairsville store closing in on 20 years. He knows its importance to the dining community and to his employees.
Getting back to work was paramount for both.
That first came with the offering of curbside pickup, and then again a few weeks later. Each time more workers returned to the fold.
But neither Morgan, nor Red Lobster, will be whole again until everyone is back inside, serving the public.
How long have you been at Red Lobster? Has it all been here in the Upper Ohio Valley?
I have been with Red Lobster for 25 years and 17 here in St. Clairsville. I have been blessed to work with the best hospitality team throughout my career who cares most about the guests and each other.
How soon after it became apparent that the pandemic was going to cause shakeups to businesses to the St. C. store move to react? What were some of the initial changes?
The biggest change is the ability to seat approximately 60 percent of the dining room. We started preparing as soon as the governor made the announcement.
How did the curbside pickup business go during the time you could not have dine-in customers? Was it a smooth transition on the customers’ side? How about the employees?
Curbside, takeout, and delivery went well. The guests were very understanding. We had to change from putting food on 99 percent plates to 109 percent to-go boxes.
How excited were you learn that the restaurant could open back up to indoor dining? Were you able to bring back any staff that might have been temporarily laid off previously?
We were very excited and relieved to be open for dine-in. We had 76 people working before COVID 19 and now about 40 are back.
How difficult has it been adjusting to the current indoor-dining regulations? Was it more of a transition for the staff or the customers?
The transition has been very easy for us. We are known for caring tremendously about sanitation and safety. The guests have been great. We do temperature checks and wellness evaluations every day for our staff. We have six feet marked everywhere that it needs to be along with seats that are not able to be sat in right now.
