(WKBT) – Restaurant staffing is improving ever so slightly, but still below normal levels. The National Restaurant Association says as of last month, restaurants are still 10 percent below pre-COVID employment levels. If you’re a restaurant manager right now, you’re just trying to figure out how to stay open. “All we’re asking is to find some employees that can give back to us, so we can give back to the community,” Dublin Square Irish Pub general manager William Gaines said. Gaines says the restaurant has tried almost everything to hire people, from high starting wages, to signing bonuses, to flexible scheduling.