Alabama Chick-fil-A Restaurants Shut Down Dining Rooms Over Staff Shortages

Alabama Chick-fil-a’s are experiencing such severe staff shortages that it has led to many locations having to shut down their dining rooms. Operating with skeleton crews, employees are overworked and exhausted.

“We are very appreciative, but our team cannot continue at the pace we are at. Our team members are exhausted, and there is no relief for them in our roster,” a Bessemer location wrote on Facebook over the weekend. “Our team humbly asks for your patience as we recalibrate. We will be closing our dining room on Monday, August 23rd.”

The company confirmed to CBS News that some of the individually owned locations were forced to close their dining rooms due to staff shortages or a surge in COVID-19 cases in the surrounding communities.

And the Bessemer location is not alone. A Chick-fil-a in Madison has closed their dining room and eliminated the curbside pickup to help alleviate stress to the staff. The location has been actively recruiting but has seen far fewer job applicants and potential candidates bailing on interviews. This has been commonplace in the restaurant industry since the pandemic started.

A third Alabama location, in Calera, is asking for patience as they too close down their dining room, turning off the curbside pickup, and limiting catering orders. The post echoed the same sentiments as the other two, noting that they are actively recruiting and looking forward to getting back to normal.

For now, the drive-thru will be the only option to enjoy Chick-fil-a at these locations, at least until they are fully staffed once again.