As Music City continues to grow at a seemingly unstoppable pace, some East Nashville restaurant owners said they can't hire help because of it.
In areas with higher costs of living, such as Five Points, restaurant owners and management reported they can't hire enough staff. Leslie Allen with I Dream of Weenie, a hot dog stand on South 11th Street, said it's because of the cost of rent. According to website Rent Jungle, rent prices have doubled in the past ten years,
"It's more of theory that I and the other restaurateurs in the area talk about that it's just harder for people who are able to afford to work in the area to work in the food service industry," said Allen. Allen said she only has one position open at the moment, but during the spring, it can be difficult to find people to work the stand.
"Just a room in a house can be $600 to $1,000 a month. Renting a whole house can be 1,500 or 2,000 dollars a month," she said. According to Allen, most of her employees have several part time jobs. However, they can't afford to live near where they work.
"It would be more professionals that can afford to be in higher paying fields," she said.
But go just across the street to Beyond the Edge Sports Bar and Director of Operations Josef Gutzmirtl will tell you something different.
"I've got to say, it's been a little bit of a struggle," said Gutzmirtl. "It doesn't seem as if the labor pool is growing with the town in the hospitality business, so to speak."
Gutzmirtl believes the problem is partly happening because so many restaurants are opening across Nashville. Potential employees have many choices. Also, he says the new people moving to Nashville are in the medical, tech or business fields.
"They say 100 people a day are moving here, but I don't believe a lot of them are working in restaurants right now," he said.
Gutzmirtl said he has server positions open, but his main need is line cooks.
