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inessJournal.co
CoastRiverBus
Volume 16 •
FREE
Published 2nd
Wednesday
of the month
Chronicling
ss in the Colum
the Joy of Busine
light:
Industry Spot
July 2021
Issue 7
bia-Pacifi c Region
or
front er do
to customers
Farm to
fresh, local food
team up to deliv
Inside:
Page 6
Nonprofi ts
like son
Like mother, both open stores in Long Beach
Jennifer and Jace Stenersen
11
Pages 5 and
y job title
An extraordinar
at Cannon Beach resort
Kite concierge assists
Page 8
families
CAITLIN SEYFRIED
Volunteers pack
local products
for delivery
at the North
Coast Food
Web.
to hike
Getting paid
Randall J. Hodges
A Q&A with photographer
Page 14
DailyAstorian.com // TUESDAY, JULY 13, 2021
149TH YEAR, NO. 6
$1.50
Proposed
subdivision
pitched in
Seaside
Traffi c safety a concern
By R.J. MARX
The Astorian
Photos by Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian
Justine McGee takes orders at the Bridgewater Bistro.
Restaurants juggle hours as
labor shortage causes strain
By ETHAN MYERS
The Astorian
T
ony Kischner has been involved
in the restaurant industry for over
50 years. But the conundrum he
and his wife, Ann, are facing at Bridge-
water Bistro is something they haven’t
encountered .
With coroanvirus restrictions lifted
and the bustle of summer tourism in
Astoria, it may seem like restaurants
have fi nally put the struggle of the
pandemic behind them. Yet for many ,
a labor shortage and other lingering
challenges have prevented a return to
normalcy.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,”
Tony Kischner said.
After Bridgewater lost staff in
late spring for various reasons, the
‘IT’S A HARD
ENOUGH BUSINESS
ALREADY DEALING
WITH THE SUMMER
PRESSURE.’
Ann Kischner | co-owner
of Bridgewater Bistro
Kischners sought to replace them. They
were surprised to come up empty. Not
only were they unable to fi nd experi-
enced line cooks and servers, there was
even a lack of applications from high
school students interested in bussing
and dishwasher jobs.
The interest they received for jobs
that typically require experience came
from people who had never worked in
restaurants .
“It’s a hard enough business already
dealing with the summer pressure,”
Ann Kischner said.
Several restaurants on the North
Coast are facing similar obstacles.
Some have temporarily closed or
reduced hours at a time when business
could be booming. A few have taken
to social media to vent with anecdotes
about people who apply for jobs but
do not show up for interviews or who
accept jobs but fail to appear for shifts.
The Oregon Employment Depart-
ment, in a special research report
released last week, said the state lost
286,000 jobs and unemployment hit
See Restaurants, Page A6
SEASIDE — Traffi c, bicycle and
pedestrian safety were the top concerns
among planning commissioners as own-
ers of the Cross Creek subdivision on N.
Roosevelt sought a conditional use permit
for a 72-unit complex.
The property comprises about 4 1/2
acres and is located near the TLC Fibre
Federal Credit Union building near
Neawanna Creek. Neighboring businesses
include Randall Lee’s Flooring America,
Ticor Title and Seaside Car & Boat Wash.
Lots would be sold to builders, with
units anticipated to be leased at $1,200
to $1,400 a month. Eight buildings with
six units each and six buildings with four
units each are proposed at the site.
The big thing missing from the own-
ers’ submission, Planning Commis-
sioner Kathy Kleczek said, are measures
designed to ensure pedestrian and bicycle
safety at the entrance from U.S. Highway
101.
“When you create residences over
there, you’re going to have more and more
people moving in that area by foot, and by
bicycle, and none of these plans take those
people into account,” Kleczek said. “And
that to me is a huge concern. When you’re
accelerating to get off the highway or
accelerating to get onto the highway, and
you’ve got somebody walking or biking
through that same intersection, you’re cre-
ating a crash condition that is now vehicu-
lar and pedestrian or bicycle.”
See Subdivision, Page A6
AstoriUS Day
Downtown
celebration
set for Friday
By GRIFFIN REILLY
The Astorian
The Astoria Downtown Historic
District Association is hosting a
celebration Friday as a replacement
and expansion for the annual side-
walk sale.
Business owners and event orga-
nizers hope the event — dubbed
“AstoriUS Day” – can reinvigorate
downtown after over a year of coro-
navirus restrictions .
“We want it to be a way to recon-
nect with and rediscover downtown
Astoria,” said Jeannine Grafton, the
owner of RiverSea Gallery. “Let’s
get back downtown and fi nd each
other again.”
LEFT: Diane Dunn organizes reservations at the Bridgewater Bistro. RIGHT: Sarah Grundman buses a table at the Bridgewater Bistro.
See AstoriUS Day, Page A6
Teenager branches into landscaping
Carter received
scholarship help
By GRIFFIN REILLY
The Astorian
EASIDE — Westin Carter
speaks with fervor as he illus-
trates how he hopes his business
can expand local market share .
His goals are precise. H e’s cer-
tain he can continue his compa-
ny’s success.
He’s also only 18.
A recent graduate of Seaside
High School , Carter received a
S
$2,000 scholarship from the Clat-
sop County Master Gardener
Association . The award recog-
nized his “signifi cant horticultural
skills and entrepreneurial acu-
men” in leading his landscaping
business, Local Lawnboy LLC.
Carter describes the scholar-
ship as incredibly generous, and
appreciates how it gave him the
opportunity to talk about his pas-
sions for plants and business .
“As an 18-year-old it’s some-
times hard to relate to my friends
when I talk about whether or not
to plant a hydrangea,” he said .
“This scholarship really let me
show what I’ve learned over the
years.”
Carter credits Janet Wil-
loughby, a former client and a
member of the master gardener
association , with pushing him
to apply for the scholarship as a
senior.
“I don’t think he approaches
anything halfway,” she said . “I
thought I was a workhorse, but I
pale in comparison to Westin.”
Carter’s business venture began
six years ago with a bit of inspira-
tion from his grandfather, Brent
Wilson, who ascended the ranks in
the banking industry in his career.
See Carter, Page A6
Westin Carter
and Shelby
Treick, a
counselor at
Seaside High
School.