Colorado Restaurant Association: 90% of restaurants struggling with staffing

DENVER — While patrons are returning to Colorado restaurants after the rollback of mask mandates and capacity restrictions, restaurateurs are having trouble finding workers, according to a survey from the Colorado Restaurant Association.

The survey, which polled 195 operators in late April and early May, found that 90% of restaurants are struggling with staffing. 

According to the association, “65% of operators believe the primary hiring obstacle is workers preferring to remain on unemployment benefits.”

Back-of-house positions are the hardest to fill, restaurateurs said. 

Existing workers are proving difficult to retain, in part because they are being asked to increase their workloads to make up…