Restaurant Job Market

Today the residents of Arnold, Missouri learned of some extremely sad news via the local Leader newspaper: Bambinos, one of the greatest Italian eateries in the area—indeed, perhaps the best individually owned, non-chain restaurant of the Italian scene—had to close its doors for good. The closing is due to both the weak economy—an unemployment rate of 11% in our county—as well as a huge burst of chain growth in our area.

Bambinos was a wonderful place, family-owned and full of ambiance customer care. It was known for its delightful patio, upon which diners could enjoy the cool fall air or the warm spring sunlight while eating something delicious—like toasted ravioli or thin crust pizza. Sure, a waitress once spilled beer on me there, but in her defense our table was ordering quite a few bottles, and she was doing her best to manage the empty ones while bringing new bottles each time she visited our table!

The staff at Bambinos were warm and friendly, and why wouldn’t they be after they’d worked there for ten or fifteen years? In fact, some of them cried when they heard the doors where shutting for good, after the company had already made cutbacks in both staff and hours of operation. They, too, will miss the place.

I’m so sad that I won’t be able to take my husband and daughter to this classic location, which has been around since I was a preteen. My family even ate there as an informal wedding reception once. It was always on my to-do list to bring my family there to eat, and now, unfortunately, we will never get the chance. As cookie cutter chains continue to plow through our beloved town, rapidly changing it to a city environment, the local gems continue to dwindle.

Bambino staff, our hearts go with you during this difficult time.

The other day, my husband and I joked that when his unemployment runs out, he might be working at McDonald’s by the end of summer. The job market is just that bleak right now; ever since his layoff, we’ve applied to dozens of jobs every week—usually at least 100—and he’s gone on seven interviews. Even so, no luck yet, and the McJob seems to be looming over us. Read more about McDonalds Has Lower Acceptance Rate Than Harvard

Shaun, the husband of a good friend of mine, is a 27-year-old sous chef. As much as I get a kick out of Food Network (and, of course, eating food), I’d never met a chef before I met him. Shaun doesn’t bring to mind the standard image of a kitchen chef; he’s very tall and looks more like a musician than a chef. Don’t let that fool you, though; I hear he wields a mean kitchen knife! Shaun was gracious enough to answer a few questions I had about his line of work.

What led you to this job?

I wanted to further my career and education. I wrote on my resume that in my next career, I'd like to be learning more about different cooking styles. My culinary expertise rests mainly in Italian cuisine, and now I'm working in a French restaurant.

What are the hardest parts about this job? Read more about Interview with Sous Chef