Hundreds Order Up Job Hopes In Popular Restaurant

Tuesday, March 31, 2009 at 4:51 PM

INTERVIEWER:
‘You can come have a seat sir…’

College students, day care workers, professional chefs, engineers, and the long-time unemployed flocked to the banks of the Cuyahoga River - hoping to nail down a job offering not just a pay check, but the security of knowing the job will last until the snow flies again.

Four restaraunts - Shooters, Nautica, Silk, and Windows on the River; are gearing up for the season - and offered the joint two-day job fair with expectations of seeing thousands of applicants.

it’s not fancy - they’re seeking kitchen help, waiters, bartenders, busboys, and cooks - but none of the hundreds who turned out, like William Miller, considered the jobs as anything but gold.

WILLIAM MILLER:
“I’m a student at CCC, and I been out of work since I started school, 8 months now, so I’m down here trying to find anything I can.”

Noreen Childs drove in from Elyria.
She’s been job-hunting four months, and with a hungry teenager at home, says she’s willing to work almost any place…

NOREEN CHILDS:
“But Shooters has been around for a very long time, and it’s got a good reputation.”

Roger Loecy owns Shooters. He told me that in an odd way, Ohio’s 10% unemployment rate helps him, by sending more qualified, more grateful job seekers through his doors.

ROGER LOECY:
“When times were booming you were always trying to compete with other restaurants and bars, but now, a lot of them went out of business, so we have a lot more people.”

Loecy says applications will be taken through Wednesday evening, but he thinks even then, he’ll still need more people - to fill about 300 coveted spots.

Tags

Economy, Help Wanted