In its search for summer employees, Mike's Seafood & Dock Restaurant will recruit workers from Europe.
By Donald Wittkowski
This summer, some European college students are expected to pack their bags for a trip to Sea Isle City – not for a vacation, but for work.
They will be among the seasonal employees cooking and serving the meals at Mike’s Seafood & Dock Restaurant.
Mike Monichetti, owner of the popular seafood business on Park Road, said he plans to hire a dozen college-aged workers from such European countries as Bulgaria, Romania, Lithuania, Macedonia, Serbia and the Czech Republic.
The fact that Monichetti is scouring Europe to find seasonal workers illustrates the difficulties that Sea Isle business owners face each summer in recruiting and retaining enough employees to get them through the bustling tourism season.
“It’s a challenge every summer. It seems to get harder and harder every year,” said Joe Romano Jr., owner of Sea Isle Ice Co.
Romano plans to hire between 40 and 50 seasonal workers as delivery drivers for the tons and tons of much-needed ice his company will supply to businesses in New Jersey and surrounding states during the summer. In all, his summer workforce will swell to about 100 employees.
“We’re trying to use every means possible we can to find employees,” Romano explained.
"Help Wanted" signs are attached to the benches outside Sea Isle Ice Co. at 42nd Street and Park Road.
In recent years, Romano has relied on a combination of social media and traditional forms of advertising to recruit seasonal workers. In an old-school approach, he currently has “Help Wanted” signs attached to the benches outside his company’s Sea Isle headquarters on 42nd Street and Park Road.
Romano, who has operations in Sea Isle, Woodbine and Elks Township, N.J., said he tries to be flexible with the work schedules for his employees to make it even more attractive for them to join his company.
“As I tell our employees, we are only as good as our employees,” he said.
Directly across the street from Sea Isle Ice is Mike’s Seafood & Dock Restaurant. Passersby will notice a big sign in the front window of Mike’s Seafood bearing the words “Summer Employment Opportunities.” Included on the sign is the www.mikesseafood.com webpage address.
Monichetti said he started advertising for summer workers unusually early this year to help him find the most qualified and experienced employees.
In its search for summer employees, Mike's Seafood & Dock Restaurant will recruit workers from Europe.
During its peak summer operations, Mike’s Seafood & Dock Restaurant serves about 1,000 dinners per night, Monichetti noted. To help meet that demand, he plans to hire about 40 summer workers – from cooks to counter people.
Among them will be a dozen college students from Europe. Monichetti noted that he hires Europeans every summer to supplement his workforce.
Europeans usually can work longer during the summer than the American seasonal workers, who often must return to college or school as early as mid-August, Monichetti said. The Europeans, who hold temporary work and travel visas, help to fill the void during the transition from late summer to the shoulder season in September and October.
To find foreign workers, Monichetti advertises his job openings on European employment agency websites catering to college-aged students.
While he still uses traditional forms of advertising – such as the “Summer Employment Opportunities” sign in the window of his business – Monichetti has been relying more and more on social media and his company website to recruit summer help in recent years.
“This is the biggest push on social media for summer help that we’ve ever had,” he said of the hiring process this year.
Monichetti believes he will need every one of his seasonal workers this year. He is predicting a “terrific summer for the Jersey Shore.”
Sea Isle’s bars, nightclubs and restaurants are particularly dependent on summer workers. Ralph Pasceri, co-owner of the storied Ocean Drive nightclub and sister property O’Donnell’s Pour House on Landis Avenue, said businesses must use every tool at their disposal to find the right employees.
“The old days of putting an ad in the newspaper or slapping a sign on your business doesn’t cut it anymore,” Pasceri said.
The Ocean Drive bar and nightclub, on Landis Avenue, is looking for cooks, dishwashers and security workers for the summer.
The Ocean Drive and O’Donnell’s are using their websites and emails to recruit workers and schedule interviews. That differs dramatically from the past, when the Ocean Drive would simply open its doors after St. Patrick’s Day and let prospective employees stroll in straight off the street for interviews, Pasceri noted.
Both the Ocean Drive and O’Donnell’s are looking to hire seasonal workers this summer, including cooks, dishwashers and security personnel.
Pasceri said that the Ocean Drive and O’Donnell’s are fortunate to have loyal college students who come back to work at both businesses each summer. Otherwise, it would be tougher for them to stock their summer workforce, he pointed out.
“I think it’s a challenge for every restaurant on the planet to find good employees,” Pasceri said.
