Fairfield Eatery Closed After Owner Couldn't Find Workers

FAIRFIELD, CT — A Fairfield eatery recently closed, and ownership is citing an inability to find workers as the cause, according to multiple reports.

Blue Cactus Grill operated for over two years in the 2400 block of Black Rock Turnpike, News12 reported, but the restaurant shut down after struggling for eight months to hire enough employees, according to Connecticut-based think tank the Yankee Institute for Public Policy.

“We were forced to close simply because we were unable to staff the business,” said a message that was posted on the Blue Cactus Grill website and later changed, according to the Yankee Institute, which published the post.

Owner Vic Amereno told the Yankee Institute he paid employees more than $15 an hour, and had offered hiring bonuses, paid time off, overtime and more, but still lost his full investment on the Fairfield business. Amereno declined an interview request from Patch through an employee of the Blue Cactus Grill location in Norwalk, which remains open.

“We hope the state is happy with the decision to extend unemployment and bonuses and hope everyone sitting at home is having a good time,” the original message posted on the Blue Cactus Grill website said. “A thriving small mom and pop business went down the drain for no good reason. I guess the state of CT wants to be filled exclusively with corporate garbage. This is a serious industry-wide issue and we feel for all the other business(es) that are struggling. Enough is enough.”

Pandemic-related federal unemployment programs are set to expire in early September in Connecticut, among them the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation, which grants unemployed workers an additional $300 per week, according to the state Department of Labor. As of July, those who claim unemployment in Connecticut must file information about their job search on a weekly basis. Gov. Ned Lamont in May unveiled an incentive program with a potential $1,000 bonus for those who return to work after long-term joblessness.

Statewide unemployment was down in June, at 7.9 percent, according to the department. Connecticut unemployment claims in a typical year are about 40,000 a week. After a 392,000 high in weekly claims in May 2020, last month the number had dropped to 165,000.