NewHavenBIZ

n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m | A u g u s t 2 0 2 2 | n e w h a v e n B I Z 15 TOTAL PROJECT SIZE: 19,000 SF Building For Your Success NUMET ORANGE, CT For this project, PDS recently completed a 19,000 square foot structural steel / masonry addition for Numet in Orange CT. This project includes a new production space, inspection room, quality control & sound room, overhead doors, restrooms, heavy lighting, a new parking lot, a 20' tall retaining wall and specialty items custom built for their processing department. PDS has always emphasized building long lasting relationships in order to serve our client's needs at any given time. With in-house disciplines of engineering from civil to mechanical, PDS can design the right building to fit your budget and timeline. SPOTLIGHT ON: MANUFACTURING 107 Old Windsor Road, Bloomfield, CT 06002 | 860.242.8586 | pdsec.com THINK • PLAN • BUILD to hire workers of any kind, from kitchen help to servers to a hostess, she said. Many kitchen workers shy away from the complexity of the food, and the restaurant went months without a hostess, she said. De Renzi said she tried to bring on four new servers for the summer but none of them ended up being hired because they got better offers, or wanted to work only certain days. e restaurant has managed to pull through by bringing in a relative and the couple's teenage daughter to work, she said. "It's been tough," De Renzi said. "I feel very fortunate because I have a very long-standing work crew that has been working for me for years, if not decades. Certainly it's not sustainable." Mass closures Dolch said he is concerned that the formidable obstacles state restaurants face could lead to mass closures. He noted that 73 percent of state eateries are locally-owned instead of being franchises or chains, which he cites as a major reason for the vibrancy of the state's food scene. He fears the local owner-operator will be supplanted by big chains that can better absorb rising costs and labor shortages. To fight back, Dolch said he is planning events for owners to showcase ways to navigate the increasingly challenging business environment. ose challenges "The restaurant industry kind of got turned upside down, and the world changed. I believe that many people who were in those positions realized that it was perhaps a better lifestyle to have a different kind of job." Steve Abrams, vice president of Max Hospitality however, aren't going away any time soon, he said. "We're not going to flip a switch, and we're going back to normal," Dolch said. "is is going to take years." n Scott Smith (left) and Steve Abrams are the majority owners of Max Hospitality. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED

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