A Growing Industry…..

suisan-9-30-16This is a very busy time for the Restaurant Industry in Hawaii. There are great new restaurants opening every month to join the great ones that have been operating for some time. With the addition of new condo buildings comes retail space dedicated to restaurants. The West side is growing with many residential projects, followed by new malls…and more restaurants. Waikiki, is Waikiki. It’s a great time to be working in the restaurant industry, with so many choices of where to work. Now more than ever, you can find a good restaurant job close to where you live. Economy is strong so people are dining out and frequenting more restaurants weekly.

But with all of this growth, comes challenges;

It continues to get harder and harder for restaurant owners and operators to make ends meet. The issues topping the list; Minimum Wage Increases, In fact all labor costs, Utility Costs, Inventory Expenses and it goes on. Some of these increases are in result of operating costs increasing in businesses that restaurants deal with. Many restaurants close because they simply can’t raise menu prices high enough to offset the costs of doing business. Customers don’t like to see prices go up, but there just isn’t another way to make ends meet.

In addition to the cost of the restaurant labor, it is getting more and more difficult to find qualified staff to fill the vacant positions. So many restaurant owners need to spend more time and money training staff, hoping that they will stay with them and not move on to another restaurant. Plus, when there’s not enough staff to handle the job, some employees are asked to work overtime. Which is 1 and ½ times the normal pay rate. This just adds to the expenses and reduces any chance of the owner to make a profit.

The Food Service Industry is ingrained in our lives; Socializing, Business Meetings, Relaxation and just because we all get hungry. Think about the World without restaurants…….not easy to do. Let’s all continue to support and understand what the restaurant owners and operators are doing. We will continue to do our part to help in the effort.

The Hawaii Restaurant Association and Hawaii Restaurant Association Educational Foundation have some great things planned in support of the Industry in this coming year. 2017 will be a very exciting year for all of us in the food service industry. Check out www.hawaiirestaurant.org for information or contact us at 808-944-9105.

We look forward to supporting the entire food service industry for many years to come.

8178847Mahalo,

Gregg Fraser

Executive Director

Hawaii Restaurant Association

 

For more information contact: HRA Office 808-944-9105  info@hawaiirestaurant.org

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