Restaurants are hiring, but where are the workers?

First restaurant workers were laid off – and reaped special pandemic jobless benefits. Now eateries are desperate to hire them back. Could all this be leading toward better pay in a difficult industry?

Ian Davis first opened Raw Ingredients sushi bar on Tybee Island, Georgia, five years ago, with a gaggle of local kids among his first customers. Today, as that group of teenagers visits his restaurant, Mr. Davis serves them a quick pitch.

“Let’s put some boots on!” he says. “You like sushi. Time to sling the sushi.”

Amid...