Restaurant recruiter works to staff casino in tight market

Monday, Oct. 16, 2000 | 11:57 a.m.

He's opened three in Milwaukee in the last seven years. But now he faces perhaps his biggest challenge - finding 325 people in today's tight labor market to staff five restaurants in a $120 million expansion at Potawatomi Bingo and Casino.

"We've learned that if I'm going to open another restaurant in Milwaukee, the job market is very hard right now," Bartolotta said.

The Potawatomi tribe hired Bartolotta to open and manage the restaurants. The casino has advertised for workers on television, on radio, on billboards, in newspapers and online.

About 70 food-and-beverage openings remain as the casino gears up to open Monday, Bartolotta said.

The casino has about another 40 nonfood openings to fill, said Jim Zompa, the casino's human resources director. Potawatomi is expected to ultimately employ 1,500.

Non-tip jobs pay anywhere from $7 to $11 an hour, Zompa said, and include medical, dental and vision insurance.

Bartolotta has another weapon in his recruiting arsenal: Money. Unofficial projections say the tribe will make $60 to $70 million annually on revenue of $200 million, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel newspaper. Bartolotta said he may not have met the hiring quota without the casino's $500,000-plus recruiting budget.

Meanwhile, Milwaukee's restaurant owners say they are watching Bartolotta's push closely.

"It's got to affect everybody, if nothing else to drive the wages up a little bit," said Jere Pandl, co-owner of Eagan's On Water in downtown Milwaukee. "I've heard some of my cooks talk about going over there."