In November of 2020, Idaho State University announced that through the Bengal Dining services provider, we’d soon be welcoming arguably the most recognized chicken-slinging fast-food chain restaurant, Chick-fil-A, to our ISU Pocatello campus. The restaurant chain was set to open later this week on Sept 15 but in a statement released last Friday, just 5 days prior to the anticipated grand opening ISU’s Bengal Dining services has announced that the opening day will be delayed.
In a statement released Friday, Sept 10 by ISU’s Bengal Dining services they state “We have had to make the difficult decision to push back our opening date to ensure a successful opening.” ISU Bengal Dining states the culprit is staffing challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. The media release sent out by Bengal Dining emphasizes their struggle to open on time by saying “The location is fully set up and ready to welcome our first guests. However, like many in the area and around the country, we have been affected by unprecedented staffing challenges as a result of the pandemic. We have been doing everything we can since we first announced the opening to hire great people to the team and provide you with the Chick-fil-A experience we have all been excited for.”
Staffing shortages have plagued the country and are being recognized as a rampant and ever-so-apparent side effect of the long-lasting conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic. Laborers in the service sector of our job force, like Chick-fil-A employees, for example, are especially lacking as the expectation to perform amidst the dangers of the pandemic are weighing heavily on their minds over the past year and some months. From shorter hours of service at a mechanic shop to longer wait times in healthcare facilities and even to delays in fast-food lines, business owners are struggling to hire reliable employment and the unemployed are struggling to find a job that will consider their safety when on the job. Back in May of this year, Time magazine reported on the labor crunch in the U.S. and stated that “Employment at eating and drinking establishments was still 1.5 million jobs below pre-pandemic levels.” This was about 12% below average, according to the National Restaurant Association’s summary of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics. There was some hope for economic recovery within the various facets of employment over the summer of 2021 and with effective COVID-19 vaccinations being readily available some areas were hoping to see some job growth and employment rates boosted.
Now with increasing COVID-19 rates, especially here in the state of Idaho with our infection rate higher than any point in the pandemic history, businesses are taking an even harder hit and are struggling to keep the lights on. Some local restaurants have even issued statements about closing due to the pandemic. Back in April, Everest Kitchen, a popular restaurant serving Indian cuisine in Chubbuck, stated in a Facebook post that they “will be temporarily closed due to a lack of staffing” at their facility, and they have been closed since. Taste of Hawaii, another local favorite to many in the Pocatello area has been back and forth with their staffing shortage issues, where 3 to 4-day streaks they are fully staffed and prepared, but then for a week or longer at a time they have to close due to a lack of eligible staff; they have since put a temporarily closed tag on all their points of contact as well.
With the surrounding local businesses closing and experiencing these staff shortages, it is no wonder that a new and upcoming place on campus has pushed their opening day facing the same issue. Bengal Dining services has not issued an anticipated date for the new opening day at this time.
