After a temporary closure this Spring and Summer and more than a dozen years in Martinez, Gary Gibson is closing his locally run restaurant due to health and staffing issues.
Gary Gibson tells ABD surgeries and physical therapy have slowed him down and haven’t enabled him to recruit employees at a time when it’s harder than ever to compete with other employers, despite nearly doubling his wages in five years.
“Before Covid, our starting wage was $8 per hour, and now it’s $14-15 per hour,” said Gibson.
He used to have multiple stores and move employees around like fast food franchises in the CSRA.
He opened his flagship store in August of 1983 on Georgia Avenue in North Augusta, which currently employs almost 20 people. “We have one lady retiring this year after 27 years.” Gibson said others with more than 20 years of experience also retired. He says he doesn’t have enough staff to shift workers to the 3909 Washington Road location, as his team is already stretched.
“Those people really can’t be replaced,” he added.
Gibson’s been running the North Augusta store remotely from home and hopes to come back to work sometime later in September. He says the Georgia Avenue location has always been the #1 store, and he has no plans to close that.
Lastly, he’s admired several successful locally run restaurants over the years, like Wife Savers, Old McDonald Fish Camp, and T’s, that had an advantage Gibson wasn’t afforded.
“They’ve been run by family from the owners to their children to their grandchildren.”
