Labor: ‘We’re paying substantially more per hour than we’ve ever done,’ Pancake Pantry partner

The Pancake Pantry Managing Partner Chip Bradley joins Yahoo Finance Live to discuss how inflation has impacted the restaurant's operating costs, food prices, and employee wages.

Video transcript

- The labor shortage has had a big impact on restaurants. The industry is 462,000 restaurant jobs below prepandemic levels. That's according to the national restaurant industry.

But while some establishments are cutting back, others are expanding. The Pancake Pantry in Nashville, Tennessee, opened a new location one year ago, doubling their footprint. Chip Bradley is the managing partner. He joins us now from Music City. Nice to see you, Chip. How is business? What have you learned the last couple of years?

CHIP BRADLEY: Yeah, great to see you, and thanks for having us on today. You know, through the last two years, we've learned a lot about how restaurants have to adapt quickly. If you did not adapt quickly at the onset of the pandemic, then you were pretty much dead in the water, so we adapted quickly.

Fortunately we've been in business for 62 years, so we've got a great following with our locals, with our tourists alike. So we're very fortunate in that regard.

SEANA SMITH: Chip, how have you adapted? What are some of the things that you did in order to make your restaurant successful over the past couple of years?

CHIP BRADLEY: We really focused on to-go service. We started with an app that allowed our guests to order online. We partnered with DoorDash, et cetera.

Since the pandemic has pretty much ended, we have gone away from our DoorDash service. We have still doing a lot of to-go orders at both locations, and that's been one of the greatest parts of the pandemic is it's allowed a bigger reach for our guests that can't come in.

- We talk about all the challenges facing small-business owners across the country. To you, what remains-- despite the hopping economy there in Nashville, what's the biggest challenge for you?

CHIP BRADLEY: You know, the biggest challenge in the Nashville market-- and this is pretty much everywhere-- is the cost of food. You know, one year ago, one egg costs me $0.10. Today, an egg costs me $0.37. So it has gone up three times, almost four times from when it was $0.10 a year ago.

And then also labor. Fortunately we are 99% staffed at one of our locations and about 85% staffed in my other location. But just like the cost of food is going up, the cost of labor is going up. We're paying substantially more per hour than we've ever done. So those are the two biggest things that hurt the national market.

SEANA SMITH: You're forced to raise wages in order to get new workers through the doors.

Chip, what are you seeing just in terms of staff turnover? Has that also been an issue in terms of employees leaving for other opportunities?

CHIP BRADLEY: Sure. Well, again, you know, we're very fortunate. We've been open for 62 years. I've got employees that have worked for me for 45 years, some for 27. And at our original location, we don't have a lot of turnover. At our new location that's been open one year in downtown Nashville, we do see a little bit more turnover because there's more restaurants that are right next to us, et cetera.

But we try to have a great place to work. We offer uncommonly good pancakes with Southern hospitality, and that's the kind of staff that we hire. And, you know, they make great money doing it, so we typically keep our staff.

- Oh, we've got some mouth-watering video on our screen right now.

SEANA SMITH: It looks good.

- I was already on the menu looking at the Chocolate Sin.

Chip, we talk a lot about inflation. I'm curious what you're seeing from the consumer. Are they cutting back, and are they cutting back on tipping as well?

CHIP BRADLEY: Again, I keep reiterating being fortunate. You know, 62 years, one of our values is being a place of value, so our menu items aren't that expensive. So luckily we have not seen inflation hurt our guests coming in the door. And, in fact, tipping-- I mean, our service staff makes phenomenal money, and that's one reason why they stay here. And you know, we're-- to open a second restaurant in a pandemic is unheard of, and we have been very successful this last year opening our restaurant.

- Yes, it is. We've lost 90,000 restaurants from prepandemic. Chip Bradley, great to have you on. Checking out the pigs in a blanket, the Chocolate Sin, the Caribbean pancakes. I don't know which one to pick.

SEANA SMITH: I want it.

CHIP BRADLEY: Yes.

- We'll come see you.

CHIP BRADLEY: 23 different varieties, so you name it, we can do it.