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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, JUNE 14, 2018
Walmart: ‘It takes a village to open a Walmart, to raise a Walmart’
Continued from Page 1A
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
People line up for the grand opening of the new Walmart store in Warrenton.
Before customers could start to shop,
the store held a ceremony that included
music from the Warrenton High School
marching band, a ribbon-cutting and
speeches from Balensifer and state Sen.
Betsy Johnson, D-Scappoose.
Walmart General Manager Kim-
berly Smith said the store had hired 250
employees, 98 percent of which are
from the local community. She gave
away $23,000 to community groups,
including the Astoria Parks, Recreation
and Community Foundation, Clatsop
County’s Healthy Kids program and
the local police and fire station.
“It takes a village to open a Walmart,
to raise a Walmart,” Smith said. “Wel-
come to the Walmart family.”
Construction began last September
after years of planning. Smith and Chris
Emmons, the Walmart support man-
ager, said people have been approach-
ing them for months to ask when the
new store would open.
“I can hardly shop for myself at
other stores,” Smith said. “‘When are
you open, when are you open?’ It’s been
all about inviting everybody and obvi-
ously the word got out. There was a lot
more people here than I anticipated.”
For Emmons, the opening is a
chance to move back home. The Ore-
gon native started working for Walmart
22 years ago in Newport. He moved for
Walmart job opportunities eight times
— from Oregon to Idaho, Montana and
South Dakota.
The Warrenton store means Emmons
can move back to the coast from North
Dakota and settle down for good.
“Other cities aren’t as friendly (as
Warrenton),” Emmons said. “I love the
coast. I’m looking forward to the crazi-
ness of the tourist season. I’m glad to
be back.”
Ann Thomson, a Seaside resident
and one of the store’s first customers,
sees Walmart as a positive change.
“I think it’s good competition for the
area,” she said.
Vacancies: In 2017, 50 percent of job vacancies required previous experience
Continued from Page 1A
feel comfortable. Sure, we are
one of the most wonderful
places, but without a place to
stay, workers will move on.”
In Seaside, Owen has
seen more and more busi-
ness reduce operating hours
or days in response to not
enough staff to cover shifts.
While the effects are largely
seen in small mom-and-pop
shops, the phenomenon has
even closed national chains
like Taco Time down to only
five days a week.
“It has made business
decisions for business own-
ers,” he said.
At Pelican Brewing in
Cannon Beach, lack of afford-
able housing has led CEO
Jim Prinzing to invest more
in local real estate to house
his workers. Pelican Brew-
ing operates seven apartment
units on site and a house in
Manzanita for its employees.
Even with housing, the brew-
ery operates at 10 to 15 per-
cent below capacity at peak
season, Prinzing said.
“There are people who
want to come and work for
us who just have no place to
live,” Prinzing said. “We’d
continue to offer benefits
to full-time employees and
competitive wages to make
the job worth their while. But
I don’t think we’d be paying
for housing.”
‘The right person’
Another struggle is finding
qualified employees. In 2017,
50 percent of job vacancies
required previous experience.
In a county with only 742
people listed as unemployed,
finding talent in a small pool
can be tough.
“Most who want to be
working are working,” Sykes
said.
Lisa Kinsley, the general
manager in human resources
at McMenamins, experi-
enced this firsthand when the
company sought to fill eight
new housekeeping positions
for an expansion project in
Gearhart.
They managed to do it,
but only through intense net-
working and by raising pay a
few dollars an hour.
“The Oregon Coast has a
lot of hotels, so there’s a lot of
competition for housekeeping
staff,” Kinsley said.
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
A line of people wait to place an order at Tsunami Sand-
wich Co. in Seaside.
The hotel and restau-
rant chain has struggled the
most with finding qualified
kitchen staff — jobs the state
has identified as some of the
toughest to fill. McMenam-
ins has 20 vacancies, mostly
related to kitchen operations,
before being at capacity for a
typical summer rush.
With lack of affordable
housing keeping new tal-
ent away, that leaves many
in the hospitality industry to
compete for a limited pool
of experienced staff already
on the North Coast, Kinsley
said.
That’s part of the reason
David Posalski, the owner
of Tsunami Sandwich Co. in
Seaside, turned to employ-
ing foreign exchange stu-
dents on work-study visas six
years ago. Another issue is
that fewer local high school
students are seeking summer
jobs, and those who do want
to work fewer hours.
Posalski tried offering
flexible schedules and end-
of-summer bonuses to keep
local kids on, but ultimately
would find many weren’t
willing to work the number
of hours he needed to oper-
ate, he said.
Students on the work-
study visas, however, are here
to work, Posalski said.
“When you interview
them, the first question they
ask is ‘How many hours can I
work?’” he said. “These kids,
from Bulgaria and Lithuania,
they want to work 60 to 70
hours a week. Because here,
you can work for a summer
and make a year’s worth of
income back home.”
Impacts
When the summer crowds
hit, local businesses say they
will be ready to serve — with
or without vacancies.
But readiness will come
at a cost. If 20 positions at
McMenamins aren’t filled,
the company will have to
continue paying for wages,
travel and hotel expenses for
staff they bring in from Port-
land to fill shifts.
At Pelican Brewing, run-
ning without a full staff means
sometimes closing off certain
sections of the restaurant or
slower food times — realities
that ultimately impact profit-
ability, Prinzing said.
“You get creative. You
make it work,” he said. “You
get to the point where you
can make it through the day,
but you can’t do those extra
things.”
For now, businesses are
making it work. But if prob-
lems persist, there could be a
breaking point.
“We are fortunate enough
to have three locations. We’re
diversified. If we were one
standalone restaurant it would
be exceptionally challenging
to handle housing,” Prinzing
said. “It makes you think
seriously about whether it’s
worth expanding on the coast.
That’s probably the most sig-
nificant impact of all this.”
CLASSIFIEDS
WE GETRESULTS
THE DEADLINE FOR
CLASSIFIED ADS
is 1 p.m. the day before your
ad is scheduled to run
All classifieds require pre-payment
104 Special Notices
SOLICITATION FOR BIDS
and REQUEST FOR
QUALIFICATIONS:
The City of Astoria’s Parks
and Recreation Department
is currently seeking bids for
landscape maintenance ser-
vices at multiple Park prop-
erties, bids for janitorial ser-
vices at Park restrooms, and
is seeking qualified individu-
als or businesses to provide
Marketing and Communica-
tions services for the Depart-
ment. Inquiries for all three
outreaches can be directed to
Jonah Dart-Mclean at
jdart@astoria.or.us
EVERYTHING is coming up results
when you use a classified ad!
104 Special Notices
Do you love libraries?
Enjoy history?
The Astoria Public Library
is conducting Preservation
training on June 28, 2018
from 9 am to 3 pm. Training
will prepare volunteers to
work in the archives
located in the library
basement. Space is limited
to 30 people. Volunteers
may call the library at
503-325-7323 or
503-298-2450 to apply and
obtain further details.
107 Public Notices
A small-town
newspaper with a
GLOBAL
OUTLOOK
Occasionally other
companies make
telemarketing calls off
classified ads. These
companies are not affiliated
with The Daily Astorian and
customers are under no
obligation to participate.
If you would like to contact
the attorney general or be put
on the do not call list, here
are the links to both of them
Complaint form link:
http://www.doj.state.or.us/
finfraud/
www.DailyAstorian.com
181 Lost & Found
Lost June 8th
L380 Nikon Camera
Screen saver of quaker parrot
bathing in a bowl. No ID
Contains photos of beloved
pets. Irreplaceable memories.
$150 reward
(503)325-9004
301 RVs & Travel
Trailers
2003 Itasca Class A Sun
Cruiser for sale
31ft. Gas. Ford V10.
Pristine condition.
503-861-3598
Beautiful brand-new
Jayco Jay Flight 25-
foot 2017 travel trailer
Model 212QBW
Purchased in the summer
of 2017 and never used.
Comfortable, airy, well-de-
signed travel trailer with lots
of windows, a skylight, elec-
tric canopy, air-condition-
ing, radio, microwave and
all the usual features in this
best-selling model.
Purchased in anticipation
of travel but plans have
changed. We literally have
not spent a single night in
it and it has not left our Il-
waco driveway since being
delivered from Portland.
$18,000.
360-642-7116;
Please leave msg.
Let your pockets “jingle”
with extra cash from
The Daily Astorian classifieds.
481 Freebies
Truck Canopy for
Chevy S10 or GMC S15
Needs rear window.
(503)325-7345
504 Homes for Sale
Call DANIELLE today
to place your ad
5033253211
or 800-781-3211 x231
Email: classifieds@dailyastorian.com
Web: www.dailyastorian.com
616 Rooms &
Roommates
Rooms to let
CE
PUBLISHER’S NOTICE
651 Help Wanted
All real estate advertising in
this newspaper is subject to
the Fair Housing Act which
makes it illegal to advertise
“Any preference, limitation
or discrimination based on
race, color, religion, sex,
handicap, familial status, or
national origin, or an intention
to make any such preference,
limitation or discrimination.”
Familial status includes
children under the age of 18
living with parents or legal
custodians; pregnant women
and people securing custody
of children under 18. This
newspaper will not knowingly
accept any advertising for
real estate which is in
violation of the law. Our
readers are hereby informed
that all dwellings advertised
in this newspaper are
available on an equal
opportunity basis.
To complain of discrimination
call HUD at 1(800)669-9777.
The toll free telephone
number for the hearing
impaired is 1(800)927-9275.
Riley’s Restaurant in Seaside is
looking for line cooks.
Come in and apply
1104 S Holladay Drive
604 Apartments
Emerald Heights
2 & 3 bedroom large & small
apartments available
(503)325-8221
SOCIAL ANXIETY?
Send an email to:
classifieds@dailyastorian.com
to place a classified ad without
picking up a phone!
BEACH BURRITO
WANTS YOU!
Friendly, outgoing persons
please apply from 2-5pm at
Beach Burrito
Contractors needed
immediately
Starting pay $15-$20 DOE
Call 971-320-0544
SUBWAY
WANTS YOU
Friendly, outgoing persons
please apply from 2-5pm at all
North Coast Subways
651 Help Wanted
Concrete Worker/Finisher
Needed
Valid ODL and pre-drug
screening.
Call (503)440-2382 or email
rpromconcrete@aol.com
Full-Time Employment
Help wanted: Construction
Laborer
$14.00/per hour
ASTORIA, OR
503-440-1573
Part-Time Employment
We have housekeeping
positions available!
Manzanita, OR
503-368-7701
info@oceaninnatmanzanita.
com
CASH buyers are reading
your classified ad.
The City of Cannon Beach
is seeking qualified applicants
for the position of
Utility Worker II in the
wastewater division .
Full details at
ci.cannon-beach.or.us/jobs