Service industry starving for staff in Southern Georgian Bay

Thornbury service industry starving for staff The service industry in Thornbury is starving for staff and a task force is assembled to serve up some help. CTV's Craig Momney reports.

Barrie — The service industry in Southern Georgian Bay is starving for staff.

Jennifer White has owned the Orchid Restaurant in Thornbury for 25 years, and today, she's working the grill.

White says she can't find a full-time cook, admitting it's been a struggle over the years to find - and keep - staff.

"As the prices increase on housing, it gets harder and harder for people that aren't making a huge salary to afford to live here and work in the retail industry and restaurants - which is a huge chunk of this town's business," she explains.

Down the street at Foodland, owner Brian Leduc says filling vacancies is a huge issue. "Not a lot of people live here. The ones that do have money and don't need to work."

The grocery store has about 80 staff, that's 50 employees short of its goal. Recently, Leduc reduced store hours to accommodate staffing issues. He says most of his workers live in Meaford, and blames the lack of affordable housing in the area.

The Town of the Blue Mountains Mayor Alar Soever says it's been a problem for more than a decade. "People are moving up here in droves, and it's driving property values up, but it's also driving up the prices of housing," he explains. "That's why we revitalized our attainable housing corporation."

Officials are working on a plan to build homes in the area for workers.

A group of business owners formed an economic task force to tackle the root of the concerns, including filling employment vacancies.

"This task force will go out and actively put programs together in regards to transit, expanded routes, as well as just letting people know that this is a great place to live, locate and work, not just come for fun and retirement," says town Councillor Peter Bordignon.

Council's attainable housing project will be located on four acres of land, formerly a Foodland store, at 171 King Street East in The Town of the Blue Mountains.