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- A Dunkin' branch in Colorado Springs has temporarily closed because it can't find enough workers.
- "We're in a major labor crisis," said the CEO of a franchisee that manages seven Dunkin' stores.
- The store had only three employees on the rota before it closed, The Gazette reported.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
A Dunkin' branch in Colorado Springs has temporarily closed its doors because it is struggling to find workers amid the labor shortage, The Gazette reported.
Alex Apodaca, chief operating officer at JB Partners, an Arizona-based franchisee that manages seven Dunkin' stores in the area, told the outlet: "We just can't get people to work."
The west-side Dunkin' on Colorado Avenue has been operating for 55 years. The store would usually have 15 employees on its rota. But that fell to three just before the store closed, Apodaca said.
"We're in a major labor crisis and that is the 100% reason why we're closed," he added. "No other reason."
Dunkin', which underwent a rebranding in 2018 that changed the store's name from Dunkin' Donuts, is not alone in its struggle, however. Other businesses in the US are still grappling with a labor shortage, months after their states cut enhanced jobless benefits.
Ray Sykes, who owns the Italian restaurant Arabellas in Winter Haven, told The Ledger he had to hire workers still at high school who have very little experience, or in some cases, none at all.
In late August, at least three Chick-fil-A restaurants in Alabama closed their dining rooms because they didn't have enough employees to keep them open. Two more started shutting early "due to extremely short staffing," Insider's Grace Dean reported.
In the case of Dunkin', JB Partners had already closed and reopened at least two of its Springs locations over the past 18 months, due to a hiring crisis.
"That part of town, it's a little bit more difficult with hiring," Apodaca told The Gazette. "I guarantee you, if we were two or three miles west, or two or three east, we wouldn't have the same problem. But for some reason, that pocket is just really difficult to find people that want to work."
The franchisee hopes to reopen in the coming weeks, according to Apodaca.