OCEAN CITY, M.D.- As people flock to our beach towns for the unofficial kick-off of the summer tourist season, some beach businesses still don't have enough employees to handle the surge. The beaches may seem quiet now, but the Memorial Day crowds are coming quickly in Ocean City and some businesses are having to prepare for another upcoming summer rush short of workers.
Tom Cuser is the manager at the purple moose saloon on the ocean city boardwalk. He says the fact that workers can't find housing is impacting his hiring and hopes he can get some help in other ways.
"It's been tough a lot of hours but we're doing what it takes to get through the season, Cuser said. “We're hoping to fill some of the voids with our J-1 students and we'll see where that takes us."
Erin Soriano, a manager at Fisher's Popcorn, says they have just enough workers on board to get by this season, but would still like to hire more people, just in case.
"We are pretty lucky in the fact that we do have quite a few people we brought on for this upcoming season,” Soriano said. “Obviously, we can always use some more help. cause, I mean things come up and people get sick, or they need to take leave so obviously having a couple of extra bodies would be very helpful."
A couple of extra bodies would go a long way for numerous businesses here in town, but some managers we spoke with are not too hopeful those bodies will be walking through their doors. On the other hand, Keith Melvin, the general manager at The Dough Roller's, says things aren't as bad as they've been in the past.
“We are getting back to normal with more help local help, Melvin said. “And a lot of the J-1 is back in town. We're ready we're here to take care of our business. We are here to take care of our customers. We're waiting for the people to get here. With nice warm weather, we have a big crowd and that's really what's most important we need some great weather.”
Even as some businesses who are experiencing the brunt of the worker shortage have to pick up extra shifts until more help arrives, businesses are looking forward to the summer season and tourists.
