North Jutland restaurants forced to close due to severe staff shortages

Restaurants and cafés across North Jutland are struggling to stay open as the peak summer season begins, with owners unable to recruit enough staff despite high customer demand, Danish broadcaster DR reports.

Elizabeth Madrid, co-owner of A’porta café in Mariager, now closes multiple days a week after failing to hire kitchen workers. “We can’t find people to help with dishes or cooking,” she said, describing 12- to 14-hour shifts to keep the business running. “We have so many guests, but we just don’t have the staff.”

The café recently shut for three consecutive days so Madrid and her partner could recover from exhaustion. She acknowledged that kitchen wages lag behind other industries but noted deeper reluctance: “It’s hard work. Job centres tell us many can’t handle it.”

In nearby Aalborg, the local restaurateurs’ association held an emergency meeting this week with job centre representatives to address the worsening labour crisis. Henrik Foget Jensen, the association’s chair, called the shortage “a growing problem” and questioned whether low pay, long hours, or workplace culture deter applicants.

“We’ve never needed job centres before,” Jensen said. “We used to post on social media or put a sign in the window, and applications would pour in. Now we’re forced to seek their help.”