Cheesy Westerns, bongs and labor shortages: understanding Va.'s hectic pandemic job market

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Spent some time at the Texas Inn in Lynchburg, which lost its best cook during the pandemic to a head shop.

Cheesy Westerns, bongs and labor shortages: understanding Va.’s hectic pandemic job market

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HOUSING, WORKING & BUSINESS

Cheesy Westerns, bongs and labor shortages: understanding Va.’s hectic pandemic job market

BY: NED OLIVER - AUGUST 24, 2021 12:03 AM
LYNCHBURG — The Texas Inn sits at the end of Main Street in Lynchburg, an 86-year-old beacon for late-night drunk food with a menu centered around a Depression-era chili recipe and a grease-laden sandwich known as the Cheesy Western.

And for more than a decade, you could find Jacob Johns happily working the flat-top grill behind the 15-seat counter — a job he loved, until, amid a historic pandemic, he realized he didn’t.

“Nighttime would be fun as hell,” said the 27-year-old, who started working at the restaurant alongside his mom as a teenager. “I remember singing Queen songs on the damn bar with drunk people. And I love stuff like that. There’s no other natural endorphins than being able to make somebody smile.”

Like hundreds of other restaurants around the state, the Texas Inn closed when the pandemic hit. And like hundreds of other restaurants around the state, when it finally set about reopening, it found many of its former employees weren’t exactly keen on returning.

The impasse has led to headlines about worker shortages, promises of big bonuses for new hires and bitter, partisan debates over enhanced unemployment benefits, which many low-wage employers blame for their ongoing staffing problems.

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[Fresh_Start]

1. owner looks able bodied enough to be the grill chef

so why doesn't he do it?

[Unwind Your Mind]

2. I see one mask in that picture

I wouldn’t set foot in there either

[dameatball]

3. I enjoyed this article. Seems balanced to me. IMO, we don't hear enough about the many people

who just plain decided they wanted to do something else with their lives. I had always toyed with the idea of hiring a house cleaner but did not because I felt it was something I should be doing myself. I have always hated housework, preferring the outside chores, maintenance, mowing, bush hogging, gardening and such.
A few months ago I saw a local ad for housecleaning that seemed too good not to at least look into it. It turns out a young couple had decided to start their own business and were offering a generous introductory offer. Things have worked out great. They come twice a month, are very reasonable and do a great job. They even have offered to pet sit for me if I was interested. They told me they were just flat out tired of working for other people and wanted to start their own business. There are probably many similar stories out there. Sometimes when things are going bad people are more willing to take risks and try something new.