TURNERS FALLS — While Riff’s North co-owner Mike McCarthy says business at his Avenue A restaurant has been “better than it’s ever been,” that success left the business understaffed.
Despite efforts to hire more cooks, McCarthy said the restaurant hasn’t garnered enough interest from applicants, leading to the decision to close on Aug. 8.
“Never in my wildest dreams would I have expected to have had to close a restaurant because we didn’t have enough cooks,” he said. “It was a very difficult decision, but it simply came down to not having enough kitchen staff to prepare meals.”
McCarthy hopes the closure of his six-year-old restaurant is only temporary, noting that he feels pandemic working conditions and current benefits of unemployment, which can amount to more than a working salary, are likely to blame for the low number of applicants. He hopes that once pandemic unemployment benefits end on Sept. 4, an influx in people looking for work will allow his business to open again.
“I think it’s a combination of things,” McCarthy said of the lack of applications, adding that the COVID-19 pandemic and the accompanying response is a likely reason for not only the lack of applications to work at Riff’s North, but to work at area businesses in general. “I think the pandemic has made people wary of working close together.”
Still, the need to close entirely came as something of a shock to McCarthy, even after having decided to reduce the restaurant’s schedule to not include Mondays or Tuesdays earlier this summer.
McCarthy said he’s never seen a situation of this magnitude in his 35 years working within the industry. Out of desperation to keep the restaurant operational, he, co-owner Richard Lyman, managers and other staff had needed to step in as cooks.
Meanwhile, McCarthy said Riff’s Joint in Easthampton is undergoing similar struggles, but remains “fairly stable,” despite having to close on Mondays and Tuesdays. He said the future of this location hinges on its ability to retain staff.
For the beloved Turners Falls restaurant, the future is unclear.
“Our hope is that this is temporary and that we can get up and running after we hire some good people,” McCarthy said, adding that hiring just four cooks would enable Riff’s North to immediately reopen. “We’re not done yet.”
Reach Julian Mendoza at 413-772-0261, ext. 261 or jmendoza@recorder.com.