(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- The return of the Chicago Auto Show to McCormick Place this summer will provide a much-needed boost to nearby restaurants, if they can staff up in time.
Il Culaccino has done relatively well, thanks to a retractable patio roof installed a month before the pandemic-related lockdown began.
Managing Partner Frank Ruffolo said people began asking about the space two months ago, and he expects interest to grow with the announcement about the Auto Show.
The return of the convention is a morale booster, he said, but right now he’s focused on hiring.
An ad he placed for kitchen staff a month ago has yet to yield a single applicant, Ruffolo said.
Over the last several months, many of his old staff moved out of state, took restaurant jobs in the suburbs where COVID restrictions are looser or are staying home collecting unemployment, he said.
Ruffolo predicts the convention center will also have a hard time hiring enough people to staff a major event like the Auto Show, especially since many of the contracts were awarded before labor costs increased.