LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles stopped in Louisville on Thursday to host a roundtable discussion with area chefs, restaurant owners and food distributors.
Surviving the COVID-19 pandemic has been a tough journey on the restaurant industry, and Quarles launched the Restaurant Roundtable series to hear ideas, concerns and needs of stakeholders before creating possible policy changes. The roundtable series kicked off earlier this week in the Lexington area, and it will continue through rural communities.
It was a small group that gathered Thursday for the event at Churchill Downs. Quarles started by thanking restaurant owners and chefs for sourcing food from local farmers and the Kentucky Proud Buy Local program through the pandemic. The owner of Wiltshire Pantry, Susan Hershberg, was also honored with an award for making nearly $250,000 in purchases from local farmers since the program started.
Those in the crowd also shared with Quarles the challenges they faced during the pandemic, and they offered suggestions for what needs to be a priority or changed. One of the main issues was finding enough workers for open positions on farms, in distribution or at restaurants.
Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles and Wiltshire Pantry Owner Susan Hershberg
The president of the Kentucky Restaurant Association said many former restaurant industry workers say the lack of day care options and having to supervise school at home are major roadblocks to getting back to work. The stakeholders in attendance said the customer demand is there, but the environment is not stable enough to hire a full staff. They said there are also issues with a lack of incentives to return to work for some that are collecting unemployment or have found other jobs.
“One thing we’re hearing is that we need a better workforce right now, that there’s a lot of Kentuckians that may not want to come back to work in restaurants," Quarles said. "We’re here to remind folks of two things: that it’s OK to go back out and support your local restaurants and secondly, that if you’re a young Kentuckian and you want to start a career, why not give the restaurant industry a chance."
Another concern brought up several times was when Kentucky will lift restrictions. Gov. Andy Beshear recently set a goal of having 2.5 million adults vaccinated before reopening the commonwealth. Quarles said that strategy will not help the restaurant industry.
“We’ve heard across the state that restaurants and other industries would much rather know a reopening date than a reopening metric," Quarles said. "Because you have to plan ahead to staff up and train and order your supplies."
Quarles pointed to California, which recently set an opening date for this summer.
“I think that’s good for business," he said. "That’s good for Kentucky so that we know with assurances that there’s not instability and there’s no ambiguity about what the restrictions will be on that date."
The commissioner said he has received the COVID-19 vaccine but that it’s a personal choice for all Kentuckians.
Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles
“I’m here to support the idea of getting Kentucky back open for business," Quarles said. "Other states have done it. Let’s follow the science."
Quarles will continue on to host roundtables in Bowling Green, Owensboro and London.
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