Restaurant Reopening & Hiring Info

Now that industries across the City are headed towards full reopening, including restaurants and bars this month, hiring back staff is a big topic for businesses. We’ve put together some helpful information for businesses hiring and individuals looking for work.

Business owners are adapting creative strategies to incentivize returning and new staff as they reopen and expand hours, such as hiring bonuses, referral bonuses, increased wages and starting wages, and benefit offerings.

The NYC Department of Small Business Services offers hiring assistance for businesses across the City. Click here to read more about this service.

Click here to read an article from the New York Times about how restaurants across NYC and the country are handling hiring and the worker shortage.

The federal Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF), run by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), provides non-taxable grants to restaurants, bars and other qualifying food service businesses hit hardest by the COVID-19 crisis. Individual restaurants may qualify for up to $5 million and restaurant groups may be eligible for up to $10 million in grant funding. This grant is designed to reimburse you for any revenue your business lost between 2019 and 2020, which can help with current hiring.

Several eateries around Lincoln Square are currently hiring staff: Porter House Bar and Grill at 10 Columbus Circle, which plans to reopen on May 14; Starbucks at 1889 Broadway and West 63rd Street; and PJ Clarke’s at 44 West 63rd Street at Columbus Avenue; and Old John’s Diner at 148 West 67th Street and Amsterdam Avenue.