Kamloops servers are experiencing job instability and increased financial strain as the local restaurant industry struggles with rising inflation and the lingering impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The restaurant industry in Kamloops has been at the mercy of an economic downturn, which has created difficulties not only for business owners but also their employees. As inflation and the changes in customer behaviours related to the COVID-19 pandemic continue to create challenges for local restaurant owners, servers are confronted with inconsistent work hours and job instability, leading many servers to be forced to take on multiple jobs. In a press release this past October, Restaurants Canada reports that “the industry lost nearly 5,000 jobs between August and September 2024, seeing the lowest employment level since 2016, excluding the pandemic.”
Maeghan Summers is a partner in two local Kamloops restaurants that form the Noble Pig Group. “It’s very challenging to go into this industry,” she said. “I think there’s a lot of disillusionment to what it actually takes. We need to understand that there are going to be changes in our industry because of the inflated cost that it is to operate.”
This economic strain does not only affect servers and restaurant owners but has broader implications for Kamloops’ economy.
Financial pressure has been a common issue among business owners, servers, and consumers alike. The rising costs have affected how customers tip and how often they dine at restaurants, directly impacting servers in Kamloops.
Grace Balon, a first-year nursing student at Thompson Rivers University (TRU) and a server for three years, has noticed a change in her customers’ spending behaviour. “You’ll see the nicest people, and they’ll tell you how amazing [you were as a server], and they wish they could tip you more. So, you can tell people are struggling,” Balon said.
Summers has noticed the same trend in her downtown restaurants. “Guests don’t have the same dollars to spend,” she said.
“We have to raise our prices, but I’m the one who has to go out and deal with the people, so it can be challenging sometimes. I’ve had people come in, sit down and look at prices, and decide that they [can’t] eat there,” said Keanen Bromley, a fifth-year business student at TRU who has worked in the restaurant industry for 10 years.
Both Balon and Bromley, juggling roles as students and servers, understand the struggle to keep up with the rising costs. The restaurant industry has seen a shift in customer behaviour post-pandemic, with Restaurants Canada reporting that “restaurant operators rely on the busy summer months to provide the boost necessary to sustain their already narrow profit margins.”
When Bromley first started serving, the summer season would have restaurants packed.
“It’d be go, go, go the entire shift,” Bromley said. “And now, during the summer, we probably have two less staff.”
Many students, including Balon and Bromley, have had to change jobs multiple times or hold more than one position at once due to fluctuating hours and income.
“It’s such a draining job,” Balon said.
Bromley has noticed a very high turnover rate for employees working in restaurants, saying that it is difficult for servers, especially those who are students, to find and maintain steady employment. “Lots of restaurants are seasonal. You have your seasonal high in the summertime and they hire like crazy. Then winter rolls around, and there’s not enough shifts.”
Summers, who has worked in the hospitality industry for thirty-one years, said a number of circumstances are responsible for the industry’s current state.
“The inflation factor is real. Let’s be honest,” Summers explained. “We’ve had multiple minimum wage increases. We have the employer health tax go through, and it came through at a time when we were transitioning into the global pandemic.”
As an owner herself, Summers iterated her belief that restaurant owners need more assistance to better support their staff and the surrounding community. Restaurants are having to rebuild loyalty despite consumer uncertainty.
“We need incentives or breaks that allow us to just have a little bit more of that breathing room. Because if a business doesn’t succeed, that’s a landlord that doesn’t have someone … paying rent, and a vacancy that turns someone else off [from] wanting that space because they see it as not as popular. So, there’s a huge ripple effect,” she said.
For now, servers and restaurant owners are feeling the pressure and are hoping to find relief soon.
“I know that the good times will come, but you need to get through the hard times to appreciate the good times. And, although it’s not all bad news right now, it’s definitely challenging,” Summers said.