- San Francisco
- crisis
- Restaurant
- The Guardian
- customers
- menus
- waitstaff
San Francisco is so expensive waiters can no longer afford to live in the city, and it's changing the way restaurants are serving food and hiring workers
San Francisco restaurants and bars have had to change how they serve customers because rent in the city is too high for most waiters and bartenders.
Largely, that's because the San Francisco housing market is so expensive that it's driving people out in droves. In fact, as Business Insider's Melia Robinson reported, the city is so expensive — the median home sale price is $1.6 million — that 60% of tech workers say they can't afford homes.
The news bodes even worse for many workers in the service industry. Despite a city-wide wage hike implemented on July 1, 2018 that raised the minimum wage to $15 an hour, rent continues to be unaffordable for many. And it means that restaurants, bars, and coffee shops, once a common source of employment for people in the Bay Area, are struggling to hire enough staff to keep operations running.
As The Guardian reports, the effect this is having on the restaurant industry is two-fold: Restaurants are either closing down, or they are changing how they serve their customers.
:
Looking beyond the Bay Area
Are you an industry professional who's been affected by staffing shortages or has a story to share? Email the author at lbatarags@businessinsider.com.
JOIN OUR PULSE COMMUNITY!
Eyewitness? Submit your stories now via social or:
Email: eyewitness@pulse.ng