Jobs Available, But Few Applicants

Despite a mostly pessimistic job outlook, a local entrepreneur isn't finding many applicants for her new restaurant.

Mary Davis said she is shocked that she hasn't been flooded with applicants for the nearly 50 positions she has available at Mary’s Southern Cuisine and Entertainment.

“We need to hire 50 people -- we have 22,” she said.

Davis said she placed ads in newspapers and tried to spread the word on Google, Twitter and Facebook.

Restaurants across the country are stepping up their hiring with 425,000 new jobs this summer.

"In the industry right now, everyone is looking for waiters and servers, and we're all saying the same thing -- where are the people?”

Some of her new hires also said they were puzzled.

"I just had a really, really difficult time looking for a job,” said Alice Chew, who spent six months on her search. “I've put in applications, oh God, everywhere -- 20 a week at times -- and just not getting a response, even with experience.”

Davis said she was laid off a few years ago when she worked in another industry and wants to help other people get back on their feet.

In the meantime, she'll open on time with whatever staff she has.

Davis, who has a successful Southern cuisine restaurant in Carrollton, spent two years working to expand her vision.

She said she found it on Technology Boulevard in Dallas, where Mary’s Southern Cuisine and Entertainment will open June 17.

"It was abandoned for two years, so from paint to wiring to plumbing, just to get electricity here took us about four months," Davis said of the building, which she renovated.

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