Students at the University of Central Missouri returned from winter break to find that the James C Kirkpatrick Library Einstein Bagel Bros location has shut down until further notice because of a labor shortage, which affects many areas on campus.

  Sodexo Resident District Manager Justin Dreslinski explained some of the decisions Sodexo has made in order to continue with seemingly normal operations.

  “The easiest way to explain is an overall labor shortage,” Dreslinski said. “What we have tried to do is minimize fluctuations. We don’t want to open and close operations on a day-to-day basis.”

  Every day, some employees change which location they’re working at on campus. Sodexo looks at where the largest gaps in service are and finds the workers to fill those gaps, which means those who were at the library Einstein Bros location are working in other areas on campus, such as Ellis Dining Center. 

  Dreslinski explained that because of the labor shortage, something had to be cut. 

  “We saw that we had two Einsteins that were fairly close to each other,” Dreslinski said. “We could take the employees that were working there and spread them through the rest of the operations.” 

  Dreslinski assured that the closure of the JCKL location is not forever. While that location is closed, students have other options on campus. However, having a location in the library is convenient for many students, especially those who work in the library.

    “It’s a little unfortunate … we don’t have many [food] options, and the ones we do, they’re all in one building,” Timmy Long, an employee at the Learning Commons and sophomore public relations major, said. “Not having any options in the library is kind of upsetting.”

  The Learning Commons is next to the library Einstein Bros location, so many workers who usually visit the restaurant for a meal are now left to find alternatives.

  While the closing of the library location has affected students, those who have been affected the most have been the employees. Sodexo is currently having difficulty finding employees to fill supervisor positions throughout dining operations, which means the opening of the library Einstein Bros station could take longer than anticipated. 

  Junior student worker Grace Fugate has worked for Einsteins for one year, but she didn’t work at the JCKL. She said it started off as a temporary closure, and then it shut down.  

  Fugate commented on the lack of people in management positions, and said if there were more workers who had seniority over her, then the store would most likely run better and do better financially.

  “I love the workers and managers but the communication is not [great] between the managers and those in leadership positions,” Fugate said.

  Although the temporary closure of the library Einstein Bros has been a disruption to some students, Sodexo has been working to fill labor gaps in the most efficient way possible to keep other services available.