The recent opening of the Encore Boston Harbor casino resort has deepened already existing problems related to hiring restaurant and hospitality staff in the Greater Boston area, local restaurateurs complain.
The $2.6 billion luxury property, the latest in Wynn Resorts’ portfolio, opened doors on June 23. The Las Vegas gaming and hospitality giant has previously promised Massachusetts lawmakers and regulators that its new resort would generate more than 5,000 new jobs.
While new jobs are always welcome, restaurateurs in Everett, the city that hosts Encore, and the rest of the Greater Boston area said that the resort’s massive hiring spree is making things worse in an already tight restaurant labor market.
Encore has been drawing workers from Boston restaurants and bars, prompting fears of closures of spots that have existed long before the market newcomer.
Commenting on the issue, Mistral General Manager and Columbus Restaurant Group Operations Manager Mark D’Alessandro told the Boston Herald that while they “already had issues finding staff – the casino has added a whole other dimension to it.”
Bob Luz, chief of the Massachusetts Restaurant Association, said that some high-profile spots have closed recently, including the famous Durgin-Park in Boston. Mr. Luz added that members of the association are worried that the trend will continue.
Boston restaurateurs say that the city’s strong economy in the past several years already had caused them trouble in finding staff for their properties. With Encore bringing a whole lot of new dining and nightlife facilities and ramping up its hiring, the problem assumed even greater proportions.
Can’t Keep Passing It onto the Consumer
Mr. Luz told the Boston Herald that one of their biggest fears is that they will reach a break point because restaurants are looking to pay more to their staff, but “you can’t just keep passing it onto the consumer.”
Sheldon Cohen, Operations Manager at Glynn Hospitality, said that nine of their restaurants have seen more than 10 bartenders and cooks quit following Encore’s opening. He went on to say that the casino resort “drove the cost right up” and that they were forced to re-recruit their their existing staff, sometimes offering higher wages. As a result, the prices had to go up, as well.
While finding staff is a major issue for local restaurants, Encore did not have the same problems. A spokeswoman for the property told the Boston Herald that they had received 135,000 job applications.
Encore features Massachusetts’ largest casino. As mentioned above, the property opened doors in late June with 3,158 slot machines, 143 table games, 671 hotel rooms, multiple dining outlets, and various entertainment and retail facilities.
News emerged last week that Wynn Resorts is assessing development opportunities for a 12-acre site across the resort the company has purchased in recent years. New hotels, an events arena, and a boutique outdoor arts districts have been among the options discussed by the casino and hospitality operator and potential partners.
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