Pizza shops in Massachusetts, across country desperately need delivery drivers
For eight years, Banny Firat and his wife, Poppy, have been the driving force behind Oak Hill Pizza in Newton, Massachusetts.
But a staff shortage has Banny Firat saying the unimaginable.
"What kind of business owner would wake up in the morning and be like: 'I hope it's not busy today?'" he said.
Firat said his staff is half of what it used to be and that he is in desperate need of delivery driver.
"Unfortunately, we say: 'We cannot deliver. We cannot go that far,'" Firat said. "They say: 'You guys used to come.' Yeah, that's when we had like four drivers."
Firat is not alone, as pizza shops and chains across the United States are also facing a staff shortage, especially when it comes to delivery drivers. Domino's says that compared to the same time last year, its delivery sales fell by nearly 11%. Pizza Hut is reporting a 6% drop in delivery sales during the first quarter.
"It's affecting every industry. It especially affects the restaurant industry because we're so labor-intensive," said Bob Luz, president of the Massachusetts Restaurant Association.
Luz said there are a number of reasons for the staff shortage. High gas prices are one and another is that many full-service restaurants began offering delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"There's a whole cottage of industries now around drivers and delivery of food, whereas before, it was largely just pizza restaurants," Luz said.
"We need more people in order to operate and run this business properly," Firat said.
Luz said another reason for the staff shortage is that people are just not applying for those kinds of jobs.