Almost four years ago, Alexander Leccadito (29) and his wife Tara Leccadito took over the only pub in Hechendorf after months of vacancy.
Now the couple has to close the restaurant of the "Landgasthof und Hotel Alter Wirt" with a heavy heart - the two can no longer find any staff.
Hechendorf
- "We tried everything and asked everyone," says Alexander Leccadito in an interview with Starnberg Merkur. "But many are afraid of a further lockdown and the threat of short-time work." During the Corona crisis, Leccadito, who is a trained hotel manager, had to send his employees on short-time work because the restaurant was closed except for the to-go business. “The majority then looked for something else that had nothing to do with gastronomy and did not come back after the opening,” says Leccadito.
In the summer he could only open the economy because a Croatian student stepped in. “That saved our business,” says the 29-year-old. Two temporary workers have been working in the restaurant for the past few weeks. “One recently had his last day, the other will end at the end of next month. Then we stand there alone. "
Since Tara Leccadito had her second child five months ago, she is not yet able to help one hundred percent. Therefore, she and her husband had to make the difficult decision to temporarily close the restaurant in Hechendorf. “On Thursday we were open for the last day.” The couple continues to run the hotel with its twelve country-style rooms - even after the main season is over. Alexander Leccadito also cooks for the Hechendorf kindergarten and offers catering. The inn is also available for celebrations and conferences. Nevertheless, it is not an easy time for the young family at the moment. "We now have to try to cut costs over the winter and somehow get through," says the landlord.
Not only the Leccadito couple are desperately looking for staff after the pandemic. "It is difficult to find employees," says Claudia Aumiller, district chairwoman of the Bavarian Hotel and Restaurant Association (Dehoga) in Starnberg. She had to experience this too. There were also staff shortages in their hotel “Jakl-Hof” in Wörthsee this summer. "I've done things that I haven't done in a long time, like preparing rooms or breakfast service."
She recently found new staff via the online platform Ebay classifieds, says Aumiller. However, this is not a solution to the industry's employee problem. Something has to change in gastronomy. “We have to focus on training.” Since fewer and fewer Germans want to work in hotels or restaurants, she is hoping for refugees. “They have fun at work,” says Claudia Aumiller, who also trains.
However, the Dehoga district chairwoman is in good spirits that some of the staff who have looked for another job during the pandemic will return in the near future.
“I think they notice that the gastro is not that bad after all and that you can earn a lot of money quickly.” Alexander Leccadito also hopes that he will find staff for the restaurant again soon.
"Then we can serve the popular veal liver again."
