INDIANAPOLIS — While city and county leaders announced plans to remove most of the COVID-19 restrictions from Indianapolis and Marion County, some restaurants may still not open completely.
A big deciding factor for whether restaurants and bars open to full capacity could be their staffing situation.
When the pandemic started in March 2020, roughly 215,000 restaurant workers in Indiana were laid off. Some never returned to work.
Eddie Sahm, who owns or operates 15 restaurants across Indianapolis and surrounding counties, said his locations still have plenty of openings they need to fill.
"We're still understaffed. It's place to place," Sahm said. "Some places, the labor pool is a little more accessible and the training is a little less...there are lots of reasons people left the industry, but I'd say we're probably 80 percent of where we need to be."
According to the National Federation of Independent Businesses, almost half of small businesses in Indiana are struggling to fill open positions, a record high.
"There are bigger issues at play, which are hiring people, training people, which I think is the biggest hurdle a lot of us have to come over," Sahm said.
Still, he said he's happy to hear Marion County is dropping most of its restrictions. He said he is turning his focus to making sure people who stop by have a pleasant experience.
"It's more about making sure our staff is trained to provide the same experience we wanted to provide since day one," he said. "I think it's a good sign."
