London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jan 22, 2026

'Hiring anyone that shows up': SF businesses struggle to stay afloat amid labor shortage

'Hiring anyone that shows up': SF businesses struggle to stay afloat amid labor shortage

"Right now we'll take anyone who are willing to learn and stay with us." The pandemic's effects on the labor force are still being widely felt, but are especially pronounced for small and medium-sized businesses that may not survive.
Walk up to French Tulip Flowers in San Francisco's Noe Valley neighborhood, and you'll be greeted by a sign that reads 'We are hiring anyone that shows up'.

"Right now we'll take anyone who are willing to learn and stay with us," said the store's owner, Andrei Abramov.

Abramov says, right now, he and his girlfriend are the only two people working at the shop- working all day, every day.

A few weeks ago, Abramov put the sign in the store's front window to try and attract anyone willing to help out.

"We had two employees and one of our employees retired, and one employee just opened his own shop," Abramov said.

But French Tulip Flowers isn't the only shop having difficulties getting employees.

Several in Noe Valley say it's a persistent problem.

Just a few feet down the road at Casa Mexicana, Jose Rodriguez says his team has been short staffed for months.

Something he fears could potentially get worse with the emergence of the new omicron variant.

"Very worried about it. There's a lot of people who don't want to get the vaccine," Rodriguez said.

Issues like these have been popping up for business all around the country, says Julia Pollak, the chief economist for ZipRecruiter.

She says the pandemic's effects on the labor force are still being widely felt, but are especially pronounced for small and medium-sized businesses.

"They just don't have the financial cushion to compete on pay and benefits to the same degree. And, two, you know, they don't have entire departments devoted to human resources analytics," Pollak said.

But until the time comes when more help walks through the door, Abramov says they'll just keep taking it one day at a time.

"We were lucky in the past and we'll just create a nice atmosphere so people like to work here."
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Prince William to Make Official Visit to Saudi Arabia in February
Prince Harry Breaks Down in London Court, Says UK Tabloids Have Made Meghan Markle’s Life ‘Absolute Misery’
Malin + Goetz UK Business Enters Administration, All Stores Close
EU and UK Reject Trump’s Greenland-Linked Tariff Threats and Pledge Unified Response
UK Deepfake Crackdown Puts Intense Pressure on Musk’s Grok AI After Surge in Non-Consensual Explicit Images
Prince Harry Becomes Emotional in London Court, Invokes Memory of Princess Diana in Testimony Against UK Tabloids
UK Inflation Rises Unexpectedly but Interest Rate Cuts Still Seen as Likely
AI vs Work: The Battle Over Who Controls the Future of Labor
Buying an Ally’s Territory: Strategic Genius or Geopolitical Breakdown?
AI Everywhere: Power, Money, War, and the Race to Control the Future
Trump vs the World Order: Disruption Genius or Global Arsonist?
Trump vs the World Order: Disruption Genius or Global Arsonist?
Trump vs the World Order: Disruption Genius or Global Arsonist?
Trump vs the World Order: Disruption Genius or Global Arsonist?
Arctic Power Grab: Security Chessboard or Climate Crime Scene?
Starmer Steps Back from Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ Amid Strained US–UK Relations
Prince Harry’s Lawyer Tells UK Court Daily Mail Was Complicit in Unlawful Privacy Invasions
UK Government Approves China’s ‘Mega Embassy’ in London Amid Debate Over Security and Diplomacy
Trump Cites UK’s Chagos Islands Sovereignty Shift as Justification for Pursuing Greenland Acquisition
UK Government Weighs Australia-Style Social Media Ban for Under-Sixteens Amid Rising Concern Over Online Harm
Trump Aides Say U.S. Has Discussed Offering Asylum to British Jews Amid Growing Antisemitism Concerns
UK Seeks Diplomatic De-escalation with Trump Over Greenland Tariff Threat
Prince Harry Returns to London as High Court Trial Begins Over Alleged Illegal Tabloid Snooping
High-Speed Train Collision in Southern Spain Kills at Least Twenty-One and Injures Scores
Meghan Markle May Return to the U.K. This Summer as Security Review Advances
Trump’s Greenland Tariff Threat Sparks EU Response and Risks Deep Transatlantic Rift
Prince Harry’s High Court Battle With Daily Mail Publisher Begins in London
Trump’s Tariff Escalation Presents Complex Challenges for the UK Economy
UK Prime Minister Starmer Rebukes Trump’s Greenland Tariff Strategy as Transatlantic Tensions Rise
Prince Harry’s Last Press Case in UK Court Signals Potential Turning Point in Media and Royal Relations
OpenAI to Begin Advertising in ChatGPT in Strategic Shift to New Revenue Model
GDP Growth Remains the Most Telling Barometer of Britain’s Economic Health
Prince William and Kate Middleton Stay Away as Prince Harry Visits London Amid Lingering Rift
Britain Braces for Colder Weather and Snow Risk as Temperatures Set to Plunge
Mass Protests Erupt as UK Nears Decision on China’s ‘Mega Embassy’ in London
Prince Harry to Return to UK to Testify in High-Profile Media Trial Against Associated Newspapers
Keir Starmer Rejects Trump’s Greenland Tariff Threat as ‘Completely Wrong’
Trump to hit Europe with 10% tariffs until Greenland deal is agreed
Prince Harry Returns to UK High Court as Final Privacy Trial Against Daily Mail Publisher Begins
Britain Confronts a Billion-Pound Wind Energy Paradox Amid Grid Constraints
The graduate 'jobpocalypse': Entry-level jobs are not shrinking. They are disappearing.
Cybercrime, Inc.: When Crime Becomes an Economy. How the World Accidentally Built a Twenty-Trillion-Dollar Criminal Economy
The Return of the Hands: Why the AI Age Is Rewriting the Meaning of “Real Work”
UK PM Kier Scammer Ridicules Tories With "Kamasutra"
Strategic Restraint, Credible Force, and the Discipline of Power
United Kingdom and Norway Endorse NATO’s ‘Arctic Sentry’ Mission Including Greenland
Woman Claiming to Be Freddie Mercury’s Secret Daughter Dies at Forty-Eight After Rare Cancer Battle
UK Launches First-Ever ‘Town of Culture’ Competition to Celebrate Local Stories and Boost Communities
Planned Sale of Shell and Exxon’s UK Gas Assets to Viaro Energy Collapses Amid Regulatory and Market Hurdles
UK Intensifies Arctic Security Engagement as Trump’s Greenland Rhetoric Fuels Allied Concern
×