by: Julia Palazzo, Brittney Baird
Posted: May 19, 2020 / 06:27 AM CDT / Updated: May 19, 2020 / 06:48 AM CDT
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Restaurants are facing new challenges by having to learn how to operate successfully and safely — but many in the hospitality industry are still out of work.
A Nashville-based company is helping put Middle Tennessee restaurant employees back to work.
Foh&boh is a digital platform that launched just before the pandemic and organizers hope their services will be needed now more than ever.
The company has worked with hot spots like Merchant’s, Skull’s Rainbow Room and Char.
It’s a matching website — but for businesses and employees in the food and beverage industry.
A candidate creates a digital resume with their availability and portfolio. Restaurants can subscribe to the service to find or match with potential employees to fill open positions.
The CEO said she has been in touch with both out-of-work employees and restaurants.
The industry is dealing with a lot of hardship and frustration, so the goal is to reach out to as many people as possible.
“I think it’s been a tough decision for restaurants to decide when to open, recognizing it could be a few steps forward and then a step back and how employees handle coming off unemployment effectively,” explained CEO Halle Hayes.
Hayes said they hope to get Nashvillians back to work.
“We’ve been onboarding candidates during this time frame and really reaching out to them to hear what they need during this time, and obviously there has been a lot of hardship and frustration but there has been a lot of optimism on both the candidate’s side and the restaurant side,” said Hayes.
The company will be adding new features in the coming weeks to help more restaurants with reopening. Employers usually pay a monthly fee to use Foh&boh — but right now, the platform is free of charge for the first 90 days to help business owners get back on their feet.
foh&boh on ABC News 2 was originally published in foh&boh on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
