A Ukrainian restaurant in New York has faced a shortage of employees and is now unable to work around the clock

A Ukrainian restaurant in New York cannot work for 24 hours because the night team quit, reports Insider.

Prior to the pandemic, Veselka was open all day and all night, its manager, Jason Birchard, said on Tuesday. But now the restaurant is open only from 8 am to midnight. At night the restaurant is closed because there is not enough staff.

“I skip the night shift,” said Birchard, who works six days a week. “I had a team that never got back to work.”

Severe staffing shortages have hit businesses large and small across the US since the pandemic began. Many workers left their jobs in protest against low wages and poor working conditions.

The Ukrainian restaurant had 19 employees before the start of COVID-100. Birchard has since lost 20 employees.

Birchard said the average wage for their employees is between $20 and $25 an hour. Staff members who receive tips are paid between $10 and $15 an hour, he said.

According to the city's Department of Labor, New York City's minimum wage is $10 an hour for tipped food service workers and $15 for non-tipped service workers.

“I can't find an employee who will work for less than $20 an hour,” he said.

For the night shift, Birchard is willing to pay even a bonus salary, but he simply cannot find people.

On the subject: The legendary restaurant Veselka can hardly cope with the influx of those who want to support Ukrainians: managers work 10-12 hours a day

In March, Birchard said restaurant sales had jumped 75% since the start of the war in Ukraine. Four months later, that trend hasn't slowed down, he said Tuesday.

He said he could hire some college students to stay in New York for the summer.