We need two or three dishwashers, we need two or three line cooks — O’Hare’s co-owner Heather Armstrong

 

O’Hare’s Grille & Pub is the latest eatery in the Rio Rancho area to deal with a staffing shortage, temporarily closing its doors Tuesday.

O’Hare’s Grille & Pub, located at 4100 Southern Boulevard in Rio Rancho, posted a sign on its front doors saying it’s closed on Tuesday, June 7, 2022, due to a staffing shortage. (Matt Hollinshead/Observer)

“We’re just having to play it by ear this week,” O’Hare’s co-owner Heather Armstrong said.

Armstrong said the plan is to resume business as usual on Wednesday, but she’s worried the staffing woes could be a continuing thing.

“We want to be open. We want our front-of-house staff to make money. They don’t make money when we don’t open. We have several people in the kitchen that this directly affects their families,” she said.

A couple of O’Hare’s kitchen staffers are dealing with health issues, while another s fighting COVID-19. One other staffer left and didn’t show up again.

Armstrong said O’Hare’s would benefit from hiring another four to six kitchen staffers.

“We need two or three dishwashers, we need two or three line cooks,” Armstrong said, whose restaurant currently has eight kitchen workers. “We need to hire people. Just like everybody else, we have staffing shortages.”

O’Hare’s isn’t getting any new applications, either. O’Hare’s, located at 4100 Southern Boulevard, is using different means of informing people of openings, from Craigslist to Facebook, to no avail.

“Nobody is applying,” Armstrong said.

Turtle Mountain, Storming Crab also affected 

Turtle Mountain Brewing Company’s Southern Boulevard location is currently closed on Mondays due to a kitchen staff shortage.

According to Storming Crab’s website, its Cottonwood Mall location is temporarily closed to due a staff shortage. When the Observer called Storming Crab’s Cottonwood Mall location, the phone kept ringing. The Observer also called Storming Crab’s northeast Albuquerque location. When asked to speak to a manager, a woman who answered the phone hung up.

Here’s a sign posted on the door of Turtle Mountain Brewing Company’s south location, saying it’s closed on Mondays due to a “severe staffing shortage” in the kitchen. (Matt Hollinshead/Observer)