Owner of Outback Steakhouse and Bonefish Grill says restaurant sales are topping pre-pandemic levels and finding workers is easy
- Bloomin' Brands CEO David Deno told CNBC that restaurant sales are above 2019 levels by 12.6%.
- He said the company has leveraged the carryout option and reopened dining rooms for the sales boost.
- He also said labor hasn't been a problem for the company, despite a worker shortage in the industry.
Business is booming for Bloomin' Brands, the owner of restaurant chains such as Outback Steakhouse and Bonefish Grill.
David Deno, chief executive officer of the company, told CNBC Thursday night that sales are topping 2019 levels by 12.6% so far in the second quarter, and finding workers has been easy despite an outcry from much of the service industry about a labor shortage.
Deno chalked up the sales growth to customers returning to restaurants and continuing to use the carryout and delivery options bolstered by the pandemic.
Deno said on CNBC's "The Exchange" that he's hoping to get the "magic" of both re-opened dining rooms with "great service" along with continued carryout and delivery to boost sales.
The growth is a turnaround for the company, which last year was placed on a list of businesses likely to default on their debt amid the pandemic. At the time, a representative told Insider that the company had strong financial health, boosted by positive cash flow in its carryout business.
As for labor, the CEO said the company didn't furlough or let go of its restaurant workers last year when the COVID-19 pandemic struck the US. "So when we turned the dining rooms back on and people came back in, we already had staff," Deno said on CNBC.
Much of the service industry has set off alarms about a labor shortage and an inability to return to normal service levels because of it. Some chains have had to cut down on operating hours or keep dining rooms closed to account for the lack of workers.
Others have launched hiring campaigns and offered incentives for people to apply.
Though millions of people are still out of jobs because of the pandemic, experts are estimating low wages and stimulus funding could be two of the reasons people aren't returning to work.
For Bloomin' Brands, though, Deno said the company has a high retention level and low turnover compared to the rest of the industry.
"People want to see two things. One, they ask what they're going to be paid, see what they're going to be paid. And ... they want to work in a great environment, and we feel we're able to offer both, and so we've been able to recruit the people that we need," he said to CNBC.
A Bloomin' Brands spokesperson told Insider that the company is "constantly hiring and now having to hire more people due to increased sales compared to 2019."