CHICAGO (NewsNation Now) — Small and large businesses alike are having real trouble filling job openings in the current labor market. “The Great Resignation” has hit everyone, and for small businesses trying to fully staff new locations it can be crippling.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 4.5 million Americans left their jobs in November alone. A lot of those people are going into new industries and leaving jobs that traditionally don’t pay as well, such as restaurant work.

The owners of six Chicago-area restaurants didn’t realize just how bad the labor issue had gotten until they held a hiring fair … and no one showed up. Suheir and Andre Williams, owners of S2 Express Grill, were trying to open two new locations but were stymied. They fared pretty well during the pandemic, pivoting to takeout and delivery and keeping most of their employees on the payroll.

Suheir said she teared up when she realized no one was showing up. She’d bought doughnuts and coffee, and listed the fair on Indeed, ZipRecruiter, Facebook and everywhere else she could think of. The restaurant offered full training and didn’t require any experience.

Just to keep existing locations open, Suheir’s parents came out of retirement to help and she’s got other family members working, as well. Even calling and visiting local colleges and high schools didn’t get any response. She said they’ve had a number of people come in who stated up front that they weren’t looking for work, but that they couldn’t get unemployment if they didn’t visit places that were hiring.

The kitchens at the existing locations were operating with five to six chefs per shift, and now they’re having to make do with two to three. This has led to complaints about food not coming out fast enough, but they simply don’t have the manpower to turn the orders any faster.

The Williams have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in the two new locations for which they can’t find staff, and they have rent and other bills to pay on locations that aren’t yet producing any revenue. They’re in a bind: Either let the two unstaffed locations go and lose their investment or risk losing their entire family business, which has historically been oriented toward serving underserved communities.

They get messages on social media every day from people desperate to visit the new locations, but their pleas on those same channels for people to come and help fill out the staffs have gone ignored. Suheir said they respond to everyone who asks about the new restaurants, asking them to send anyone they know who wants to work to apply.

Andre says they’re planning another hiring fair for this weekend, offering a $500 signing bonus for anyone who stays 90 days and competitive wages.