What Recession?

PGV headshot 2016

By: Pierre G. Villere

My wife and I were traveling recently, and we had made a reservation at a popular restaurant in the town where we were visiting. When we arrived promptly for our reservation time, the hostess politely told us it would be 15 to 20 minutes before we could be seated. We gladly sat at the bar, observing the restaurant and all the comings and goings. But one fact struck me as odd: 25 percent of the tables were empty. So on our way out, I asked the hostess about this and asked about the wait, and she explained what we all know about the current employment picture: They can’t hire enough servers and kitchen staff to maximize the restaurant’s seating capacity.

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