‘Lovers will rejoice’

The University of Idaho’s campus Chick-fil-A is reopening this month after closing in September because of labor shortages.

Chick-fil-A has been one of the hardest restaurants to keep open during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to John Kosh, marketing and communications director for UI auxiliary services.

While Qdoba, True Burger and others in the Idaho Student Union Building dining area only need a few employees clocked in at any given moment, Chick-fil-A retailers are required to have a greater number of staff on hand, even if there’s no customers waiting in line.

“The issue is we can’t get anyone to work,” Kosh said. “There is a real lack of a job applicant pool right now. And if you look at the big picture of things, and you say, ‘If I can open Chick-fil-A or three other places,’ That’s a tough decision to make, isn’t it?”

Since the pandemic began, finding consistent labor has been even more challenging, he added.

Kosh said UI’s campus dining program Idaho Eats has been working diligently to recruit new workers while focusing on the dining center, The Eatery, which serves the residence halls.

“You’ve got supply chain issues, which are real,” Kosh said. “You’ve got labor, which is hard to find. And you’ve got a contract that says you have to have X amount of people working at any one time.”

After closing for about five months, the Chick-fil-A location on campus is set to reopen Feb. 14, according to Kim Howe, director of marketing and guest experience at Idaho Eats.

“Chick-fil-A has really high brand standards,” Howe said. “Following their standards, we’ve been able to staff up not only with students but with some full-time workers as well.”

Trainers from Chick-fil-A will be on site next week to get staff ready for business and food shipments are on the way. Howe says students are hired at $14 an hour.

Of the Valentine’s Day reopening, Kosh said, “I think lovers will rejoice.”

Palermo can be reached at apalermo@dnews.com or on Twitter @apalermotweets.