HUNTLEY – Even as Illinois officials begin to report early signs of decline from the omicron surge, businesses across the state have had to continue modifying the way they operate just to stay afloat amid inflation of goods and services and staffing shortages.
Like many restaurants nationwide, Village Inn has been navigating the choppy seas of the pandemic but is committed to maintaining their stan- dard of service and pricing as much as possible, no matter the turbulence. (Photo by Brandon McBryde/My Huntley News)
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, quit rates on the last business day of November increased to 3.0%, with the largest quit rates being seen in the accommodation and food industries.
Village Inn (11713 Main Street) restaurant manager Venetia Kamberis told My Huntley News that as a small business owner, she understands the importance of maintaining happy employees. This was the inspiration behind the restaurant having been closed for a week earlier this month.
“When you work here, you’re like being welcomed into our family. So, I think having that environment and that look on things helps the employees want to stay here and work because they feel comfortable,” said Kamberis. “We closed for a week and did pay our employees for that week we were closed. Obviously, we don’t bribe them with money or anything like that, but I would say all our employees are very happy working here.”
She continued, “We wanted to just show our appreciation. Between the pandemic and just their everyday lives, we wanted to show that we appreciate them, and all their hard work and we do value our customers, but at the same time, we need our workers to be at their best and get rest. A majority of our employees have been here over 10 years.”
Kamberis alongside her mother Christina took over managing Village Inn upon the passing of Kamberis’ grandfather Bill Galanis, who established the restaurant in 1980.
Despite the rising cost of food and shortages of certain items, Kamberis states that they try their best to keep their menu prices reasonable for customers.
“We’re trying not to let this pandemic, and everything affect how we’re doing business. A lot of businesses are taking that extra step of upping all their prices like $30 or something like that. We’re just trying to keep our customers happy and stay open,” said Kamberis. “I mean we always will value our customers and try to keep our prices where they’re at to keep them satisfied. As far as our employees go, we’ll continue to keep doing what we’ve been doing over the past 40 years. We just carried on what my grandfather was doing.”
Currently, Village Inn is closed Monday nights, but as business continues to pick up, Kamberis hopes that those hours will change.
“It’s honestly a blessing to be a part of Huntley. We love being here. This is like our home. So, we just hope to be here and continue to see our customers and seeing new ones and meet new faces and everything like that,” said Kamberis.
As a final takeaway, Kamberis added that Village Inn offers daily specials, which she says is a way the restaurant changes things up for customers looking to experience something new every day.
Another local Huntley restaurant, BBQ King Smokehouse, is gearing up to reopen its Woodstock location after having been closed since last summer.
“We’re opening on the 28th of January and the reason we’ve been able to do this is because we’re going to open with limited hours. We’re only going to be open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday and we’re taking some staff from Huntley and we’re going to run reduced hours in Woodstock,” said BBQ King Owner Jason Szmurlo.
However, BBQ King hasn’t been without its hardships when it comes to dealing with staffing shortages and economic difficulties. As of current, Huntley’s BBQ King is also only open on certain days.
“Right now, in the interim, the hours are going to stay closed Mondays and Tuesdays. Yes, it is due to the staffing issue and the current state of the economy, which is awful. Inflation is through the roof. Food costs are through the roof. Everything is high so we’re starting to see those effects now,” said Szmurlo. “First it was staffing, now staffing is easing up a little bit. It’s still staffing, and it’s still record inflation that is driving people not to come out and that’s a fact.”
Szmurlo says that he’s had to increase his menu prices by 20% and has increased wages by roughly 10-15%.
“There isn’t a single thing that we buy that hasn’t had an increase. From toilet paper, paper towels to to-go containers to Coke products. The food products, the fresh produce,” said Szmurlo, “The food cost is increasing so much and now you got labor. You increase labor wages, okay so Illinois just went up another dollar, guess what, we passed that right onto the consumer. That’s just how it works and everybody’s doing it. Look at Jewel prices. Same difference. They’re just passing it onto the consumer.”
Despite some of the issues BBQ King has had to face, Szmurlo maintains a positive outlook for both of his restaurant locations.
“We’re paying people what we need to pay them. Our prices are what we need to do to make money like we were before and if people come out and spend money and business picks up, we’ll be fine,” said Szmurlo. “Now if we see all of a sudden, a big downturn in business, we’re not making money, well then, I don’t know. We’ll hit that bridge when we come to it, but we’re set up for success.”
