TYLER, Texas — The city of Tyler continues to grow and many residents may have noticed multiple grand opening signs across the area for both restaurants and retails shops. But, there have also been various closing announcements - some of which are coming from well-known establishments that have been serving the community for years.
Bruno's Pizza on Vine Ave. is one of those business struggling. Owner Lori Rumbelow says they've called that location home for almost 48 years, but today's workforce is having a major impact on their ability to hold two locations.
"We would hire five people and in three weeks we'd only have two left because they would work about two weeks," Rumbelow said. "We train them, work them, give them the schedule and then next thing you know they don't show up anymore."
According to Henry Bell, president of the Tyler Area Chamber of Commerce, the city’s economy is doing very well -- but a growing city does not equate to a growing workforce.
"It’s a problem that we're going to have to deal with for quite some time and try to solve," Bell said. "We can't just overnight produce bodies to take these jobs that are needed to be filled, so you're seeing a lot of that in the in the restaurant business."
Bruno's Pizza isn’t the only location in the Rose City to make this type of announcement. Local BBQ closed their doors last Sunday and seafood restaurant Breakers also closed after 14 years in business. These businesses didn’t give much detail on their closures, but Rumbelow said she wants to be transparent on what's going on with their original location.
"At 1:30 or 2:00 in the morning I might get a text message saying, 'Hey boss lady I need a raise. If you can't get me a raise I'm not coming in'," Rumbelow said. "If my kids had ever done that, they better not have ever done something like that but I mean it's just a totally different mindset."
Employment struggles have also taken a toll on Putt-Putt Golf & Games. They have announced that after 64 years of entertainment that their last day of operation will be on March 24, 2024.
”I feel for the Bruno's people because I know what they're going through," owner Katherine Adair said in a statement. "It's been bad, before COVID-19 we had a staff of 12 and now we have six of us that work, you can't have a business when you don't have the staff you need.”
Bell said even though Tyler continues to see growth in its population and the rise of businesses, it's not making up for the lack of workers in the area. He says unemployment is down, but that there just isn't enough people to fill all the vacant jobs
"Unfortunately, we don't have enough workforce to cover all of them so you see a lot of people going from one place to the other," Bell said. "So we're short on workforce in that regard."
"Your price of your goods goes up, your price of your labor goes up, you're trying to work how much overtime somebody has because you're shorthanded and they have families and lives too," Rumbelow said. "So it's just you know, it's tough."
Bruno’s location on Vine Ave. will continue to operate until the end of the year.