Food service workers are in high demand in Bismarck-Mandan, but restaurants that recently opened say they’ve been able to hire enough staff.
For Buffalo Wild Wings, which opens its north Bismarck location on Monday, recruiting began in June and new hires began training weeks ago at the south Bismarck restaurant.
“It’s paid off big time,” said Norm Lindstrom, regional manager.
The restaurant, which employs 145, chose September as its opening date knowing college students would be available to fill positions. Finding staff for daytime shifts, however, is the most challenging because high school and college students aren’t available, Lindstrom said.
Morton and Burleigh counties had 2,265 job openings listed with Job Service North Dakota in August, the most recent data available. In Morton County, food preparation and serving was the sector listed with the highest demand.
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With that number of openings in the community, it's challenging for restaurants to meet their workforce needs, said Brian Ritter, CEO of the Bismarck-Mandan Development Association.
“We know it’s increasingly difficult,” Ritter said.
Jon Stanton, chef at Stonehome Brewing Company that recently opened in Bismarck, said he used job fairs and online advertising to recruit kitchen staff.
“There’s only so many food service workers in Bismarck. It's pretty competitive,” Stanton said. “But we have a lot of good things to offer here.”
Stonehome has 70 employees and seven managers. Stanton said he thinks the location in the new First International Bank building helped attract staff.
“Because of where we’re located, it’s kind of a billboard in and of itself," he said. “There’s a lot of curiosity.”
Bennigan’s in Mandan began recruiting workers several weeks before opening on Aug. 20, including participating in Mandan’s July 4 parade to get the word out about job opportunities.
Manager Tori Harris said the restaurant had such a strong response, managers were able to hire five to 10 more people than they were seeking. The restaurant employs 110.
“A new restaurant is always exciting and people like to go to the new trend in town,” Harris said.
Culver’s, which opened Sept. 10 in Mandan, also was able to find enough workers, said franchise owner Sammi Wu. She also thinks the appeal of a new restaurant helped attract staff.
“Since Culver’s is a brand new store, lots of people wanted to see what’s going on,” Wu said.
The restaurant began recruiting workers in July to be ready for the September opening, she said.
“A few more would be great, but, at this point, we’re satisfied with all the people we have here,” Wu said. “They are very hard workers.”
Often, restaurants have additional job openings that don’t get listed with Job Service, said Carol Yantzer, who works in the agency’s business services unit.
“Anybody that’s interested in restaurant work should never wait to see an opening,” Yantzer said. “The best thing to do is just stop in or go to their websites.”
Darlene Reinarts, who works in human resources for the Mandan Depot Bier Hall, Harvest Catering & Events and Station West Bar & Grill in Mandan, said she thinks demand for workers has been consistent, and not any greater due to new restaurants opening.
“I think everyone's struggling to get that good, dependable employee, part-time or full-time,” Reinarts said. “It is a revolving door with just by nature of the type of work that it entails.”
Reach Amy Dalrymple at 701-250-8267 or Amy.Dalrymple@bismarcktribune.com.
“Anybody that’s interested in restaurant work should never wait to see an opening. The best thing to do is just stop in or go to their websites.”
Carol Yantzer, with Job Service North Dakota