Owner of Massachusetts ice-cream parlor says customers waited in a 45-minute line because he didn't have enough staff — and that's a month ahead of the busy summer season

• Customers waited in a 45-minute line for a Massachusetts ice-cream parlor, the owner told the WSJ.
• Mark Lawrence expected the shop to be busy but didn't think there'd be no job applicants.

The owner of an ice-cream shop in Massachusetts said that customers waited in a 45-minute line one weekend earlier this month because there wasn't enough staff to help out, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Mark Lawrence, the owner of Polar Cave Ice Cream Parlour in Mashpee, told The Journal that he's struggling to hire employees for his shop, especially ahead of the busy summer season.

Lawrence hadn't expected there would be no applicants for job vacancies in store, he told The Journal.

He said that having so few workers was a "scary" situation to be in before the peak summer season begins in June.

"If it was like this now, what's it going to be like when school is out and people are coming for their summer vacations?" Lawrence told The Journal. "When you think it can't get worse, it just gets worse."

Polar Cave's website says the shop is accepting applications for summer jobs because of the shortage of available workers on Cape Cod.

Businesses large and small across the US have been experiencing severe staffing shortfalls since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and during the so-called Great Resignation that has swept through the American workforce.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the leisure and hospitality industry faced a quit rate of 5.7% in March this year. Employers have been trying to coax workers to their companies with bonuses and other perks to boost their workforce.

On top of staff shortages, Polar Cave is paying more for products, including ingredients, bowls, and spoons, which had forced the shop to increase ice-cream prices by around 20% compared to a year ago, Lawrence told The Journal.

Polar Cave didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.