THREE months after being forced into closure by the economic pressures of the pandemic, Mildura’s renowned Spanish Grill restaurant will reopen this month under new ownership – but it desperately needs more staff.
The restaurant, which was a separately owned operation within the Mildura Grand Hotel until closing in September, has been brought under the hotel’s business umbrella by the Grand’s managing director, Baljinder Sandhu, who is carrying out refurbishments and planning to reopen in weeks.
Sunraysia’s severe hospitality labour shortage, however, means virtually all sections of the hotel complex are understaffed, just as the cancellation of most COVID restrictions allows diners and accommodation guests to return in high numbers.
So many people have left the hospitality industry during the pandemic that hundreds of jobs in Sunraysia remain unfilled. Mr Sandhu is working with people in the employment industry, including the recently established and federally funded Local Jobs Program – which has been successfully training people for the hospitality industry and finding places for them – but the numbers he needs are substantial.
“For the whole (Grand Hotel) operation, I need another 25 people minimum, starting from housekeeping, I need a porter, I need another chef, I need a bartender, I need a barista, I need food staff, I need maintenance people, I need staff for my functions,” he said.
“For this area (the Spanish Grill, which includes a new cafe, the Coffee Palace), I need another chef, a good head barista and a head bartender.”
He knows that with so many hospitality businesses needing staff, he must be competitive in what he offers.
“Depending on their experience and what they bring to the table, we are paying more than award wages, we are offering full-time work so they are more secure,” he said.
“The best thing is work culture. My staff, although I don’t have enough people, they are the best. Because we are understaffed, that puts pressure on them.”
Mr Sandhu says a good-quality restaurant is vital to the hotel.
“Before COVID, we had 40,000 people walking into the Grand every year. It’s my responsibility to look after them, give them the best possible service and food, and they will spread the love. They’ll tell their family, their friends, and then we have that circle,” he said.
“I say to myself and to my staff that we are the face of Mildura.
“As much as I’m passionate about this, the only worry is staff. We need more people to work.”
Although Mr Sandhu is hoping local people will fill the positions, he is also ready to help out-of-towners establish themselves here and is prepared to help them find accommodation. He has even offered to pay potential landlords rent in advance on new employees’ behalf to help them secure homes in a tight rental market if that is necessary.
He said he had fallen for Mildura after coming here a decade ago and the 35-year-old, who was born in northern India, planned to stay for the long haul.
“I love this town so much… I’ve got my business here, I built a house here, I’ve got a one-year-old boy, I was married here,” he said.
“In this town, we are blessed.”
Staff who have joined the business recently told Sunraysia Daily that new team members would enjoy the work.
Paige Bunny, 18, has been there about two weeks in “my first time waitressing” and said that “it’s a good place to start because everyone is super nice”.
“I think anyone who applies here will love it because everyone’s just so friendly,” she said.
Shae Beer, 26, a cafe supervisor in the Coffee Palace for about three weeks, said it was “a happy environment”, but that existing staff could use some help.
“It’s really busy, we’re run off our feet,” she said.
