ODESSA, Texas — Many restaurant owners are having to make tough decisions when it comes to operating their businesses. That goes from hiring employees to purchasing essential products. The pandemic has made everything harder.
NewsWest 9 spoke to a restaurant owner who said it's been like a "perfect storm"-employees and staff are limited, but so are the products and produce they need to operate.
Alejandro Barrientos, Chef and Co-owner for Curb Side Bistro, told NewsWest 9 that restaurants are struggling to obtain the necessary items they need. That goes from meats to fruits and vegetables.
"Same thing with our produce, you might get a call saying 'Hey remember all those potatoes you ordered? Well we only have half of them,'" said Barrientos. "We have been very blessed, but it has been a true 180 running a restaurant now to before the pandemic."
Barrientos said tracking down his produce is taking longer and affecting his restaurant.
"We used to do chef specials and it gave me an avenue to express some of my creativity, but now I am afraid to do a specials due to the lack of products," Barrientos said. "What if I introduce it on Tuesday and by Thursday I don't have more of that certain items, so it limits us on certain things we can do."
Despite the headaches Barrientos has gone through, he remains grateful to the community.
He has taken to social media to say 'thank you' for the support, but also to ask for patience.
"We are going to promote whenever we win an award or when we win a competition, but we are also going to promote when we are struggling or having issues," said Barrientos. "The community comes out and helps us out more than they realize."
Barrientos said his menu will remain the same for now and hopes not to change it in the future.