OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – A 75-year-old ice cream shop and a pizza bar are just two recent examples of Oshkosh businesses struggling to find workers.
“It’s brutal,” Jon Doemel, owner of ZaRonis Pizza tells FOX 11.
“I’m very thankful for friends and my daughters and their children. That’s kind of how we’ve been piecing it together.”
“It’s been challenging,” Michael Schraa, owner of Leon’s Frozen Custard said. “Thirty-five years in the business, and it’s never been like this.”
Owners Michael and Christine Schraa say the number of workers at Leon’s reached a low, causing them to shut down early on Wednesday.
But Leon’s isn’t the only Oshkosh business that’s struggled. Doemel has been working more than usual. “Ten extra hours,” Doemel said. “It’s a lot. There’s not a lot of help out there.”
Finding staff has been difficult at Leon’s since the start of the pandemic. And although profits have stayed up, rising inflation has been an extra factor to consider.
“The cost of products that we purchase from vendors, in some cases, have doubled or tripled,” Schraa said. “And you can’t double or triple the cost on a cone or burger. It’s hard to do that.”
Schraa believes Leon’s will be alright because of loyal customers, but he still hopes to add a few more workers.
“Things will turn around and get better. The employees that we do have — we have a great team and this is a great place to work.”
But if more help doesn’t come soon, he says they may close earlier for the season. He is encouraged, though, by the response to the Facebook posts about jobs available.
At ZaRonis, Doemel doesn’t know how much longer he can stay open while being shorthanded.
When asked how confident he is that he could continue working in his current conditions, Doemel said:
“50/50. We all have our limits and as much as you want to keep your business going, there’s still a family that suffers at home. So, sometimes you’ve got to put your priorities there and take care of yourself.”
Doemel says he’s already moved back to only being open six days a week to give employees a break.
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