KALAMAZOO, Mich. — The dining scene in Kalamazoo has undergone drastic changes in 2023, and several restaurants in the city will not make it into the new year. Many of them have decided to hang up their aprons and close the kitchen for good.
"We were a fine dining restaurant. Our menu changed pretty much daily. We always had a couple of steaks, fresh fish, a vegetarian option, a chicken option and we throw duck [or] lamb on there," said Greg Paggeot, owner of Elysium in Kalamazoo.
The chef recently announced that he would be closing the restaurant on December 31.
"We opened up March of 2021. So, it was during COVID. It was restaurants are still at the 50% capacity," he told FOX 17.
He says it was tough from the start. "It's been shortage of staff every since day one, I don't think I've ever been fully staffed. So staffing has been a huge issue. And, you know, just lack of business," he added.
Paggeot says he wishes he knew why, adding that the restaurant business has been inconsistent. Just when things are looking up and getting busy— it fizzles out. The inconsistency has made it difficult to purchase food and schedule staff.
"Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday combined. We did 13 people. So I mean, and then last night, we did 78 people on a Wednesday," he said.
Its cycle he's ready to end. The restaurant has been losing thousands of dollars a month and it's just not enough to keep the doors open.
Elysium isn't the only Kalamazoo restaurant we won't see in 2024. FOX 17 has counted eight restaurants in the city that have announced plans to close this year— six in December alone.
"The big problem that many of them have though, is hiring enough people," said Brian Long, director of Supply Management Research at GVSU.
According to Long, many people left the workforce during the pandemic. While we're seeing a return, it's a slow process.
"We're looking at relatively low-income jobs, there are hundreds and hundreds of jobs posted out there. But if you dig into that big list of jobs that are available out there, you find over half of them are someplace just a little bit north of minimum wage," he said.
Between the cost of food increasing and fewer people eating out post Pandemic, Long says it's a struggle for businesses to stay afloat.
"Whenever we get into any kind of an economic squeeze, or whatever, the grocery business picks up in the restaurant business dies down for the simple reason what you said, it's allocation of your very limited amount of money, especially if you are on a fixed income," Long told FOX 17.
He also added that location plays a big part. When restaurants are in a busy area, they're more likely to get traffic, but for places like Elysium in slower areas, its hard.
While the restaurant's last day is December 31, Paggeot says he and his wife are sad to go, but they appreciate the customers who have supported them from the very beginning.
