Dino’s Sports Lounge in Greensburg forced to close an extra day due to short staffing

Greensburg, PA — Another local restaurant was forced to close for a day because of short staffing.

For the first time in three decades, Dino’s in Greensburg couldn’t get enough staff and had to shut down a day. Channel 11 spoke to the owner about the issues plaguing the restaurant industry ahead of the busiest time of year.

“This is my 32nd year this year. I’ve never seen anything like this,” Owner Dino Decario explained.

Decario can’t pinpoint why he can’t find employees to hire, but the staffing shortage has been so brutal, he’s now closing his Greensburg restaurant on Mondays.

“We can’t find anybody to fill the positions and our employees are getting worked too hard,” Decario explained. “It’s not fair to them, so we decided to close a day and give everybody some time off.”

Dino’s employs approximately 90-95 people across its two locations in Latrobe and Greensburg. They’re heading toward the busy season, as they prepare to open to capacity soon, he knows overworking employees isn’t the answer.

“It’s not all about making money or the business, you gotta take care of your people because if you don’t, then we won’t have any business,” Decario said.

Like other local companies, Dino is offering incentives and fair work benefits, but he says he can’t even get someone to the table for an interview.

“We’ve added health benefits and vacations and bonuses and 401(k) and competitive wages, but we can’t get anyone to even come in and apply.”

Dino says this issue isn’t just plaguing the restaurant industry. He says he’s seeing help wanted signs for other local jobs and manufacturing plants in town. He’s hoping there’s a solution before it’s too late.

“With the vaccinations and everything, more and more people are coming out. This is just another problem we don’t have a solution for, and I’m hoping there’s a solution coming down the road for all of us to get people to come back and apply and go back to work,” Decario explained.

Dino says he has about 10-15 spots to fill between both his Greensburg and Latrobe locations. While it’s just the Greensburg location closing on Mondays, he’s hoping it’s only temporary.

More information about hours, food, and locations can be found on their Facebook page, here.

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