La Tortilla Factory, Amy's Kitchen among Sonoma County companies hiring to keep up with demand during coronavirus pandemic

The economic toll of the coronavirus outbreak has been sudden and sharp in Sonoma County, where scores of workers have been laid off or furloughed since public health officials ordered widespread business closures 13 days ago to slow the pandemic.

But amid the closures of restaurants, hotels and other businesses deemed “nonessential” by public health officials, some local companies are actually ramping up hiring to meet a surge in demand resulting from the stay-at-home order.

Supermarkets, food processors and delivery services are leading the charge, though other employers also are accepting applications such as companies hiring skilled construction workers and sales staff in wine and financial services. A search on Monster.com turned up 3,124 job openings in Santa Rosa.

La Tortilla Factory of Santa Rosa has hired 20 new employees over the last two weeks to keep up with the demand for its wide variety of tortillas. The company had been recruiting for open positions even before the pandemic, which kicked its recruiting efforts into overdrive. Up until the health crisis, the labor market had been tight in Sonoma County, where the jobless rate stood at 2.8% in February, the fifth-lowest in California, the state Employment Development Department reported on Friday.

“We were actually having a hard time finding people,” said Ana Carreno, human resources director for La Tortilla Factory.

The family-owned company, which employs about 300 people, has openings for sanitation workers, dough mixers, an accountant, a financial analyst and a production scheduler. On Friday, it announced it was also seeking more delivery drivers, including full-time, part-time and temporary positions - work that could be suitable for people who found themselves furloughed from their jobs.

“We're still looking for people and having to keep up with the increase (in demand),” Carreno added.

Recruiters have turned to social media during the crisis after other forms of community outreach, such as job fairs, were suspended because of public health concerns. While its offices are closed to visitors, the company will open on specific days to talk with job candidates. Managers are also doing phone interviews to help speed along the process.

“Anyone has any food experience will definitely be a plus,” Carreno said.

At Amy's Kitchen, the Petaluma food processor had 43 openings listed Friday, though some were based at its plants in Pocatello, Idaho and Medford, Oregon. Its Santa Rosa plant has openings for such spots as a warehouse worker, a mechanic, a frozen foods supervisor and a sanitation supervisor. Its headquarters had positions available for accountants and a social media coordinator.

“It's across the spectrum,” said Jessica Adkins, spokeswoman for the company, which was created in 1987 by Andy and Rachel Berliner and now employs 2,600 people. “We continue to ramp up production and make sure we are getting food out there for people to eat.”

The company has seen increased demand for its popular soup and frozen meals. To protect employees and its customers, Amy's has introduced additional safety precautions on its production line, where workers wear safety glasses and face-shield masks and incorporate social distancing practices.

“We are doing our best to balance the desire to get more food out while taking care of our employees and taking their care of their health and safety,” Adkins said.

The company planned to open its new restaurant in Corte Madera this spring, but that has now been delayed. But its Rohnert Park restaurant is open for drive-thru orders and it also now delivers food to customers within a five-mile radius via DoorDash and Grubhub.

The two food delivery companies also are hiring for their gig-economy work, given the uptick in demand for takeout food. Other national companies also are ramping up hiring, especially in the grocery sector where panic buying earlier this month left many aisles vacant of supplies.

Pleasanton-based Safeway is hiring 30,000 new workers to keep up with demand, spokeswoman Wendy Gutshall said in an email. In Northern California, the company has hired more than 1,800 new employees and offered all front-line workers a temporary $2 hourly raise during the spike in business. Safeway also has partnered with 17 companies to provide part-time jobs to workers who have been furloughed or had their hours cut, Gutshall said.

Other companies are taking more measured approach. Friedman's Home Improvement - which has four locations in the area - had 26 listings as of Friday. But the company said Thursday it is “assessing the changing situation day by day and will be hiring as needed.”

Oliver's Markets has a hiring freeze in place right now, according to a spokeswoman, even though the local grocer experienced a rush of customers stocking up on food and other supplies while they prepared to shelter in their homes.

Many businesses are trying to calibrate how to respond to the recent surge of shoppers while also preparing for the future if things get back to normal in a few months, said Vasu Narayanan, owner of Pacific Market, which has a location in Santa Rosa and Sebastopol. His market hired about eight new temporary employees to help with restocking of items and cleaning. But long lines of customers have recently returned to more normal patterns as residents realize the food supply network is functioning and items that vanished from retail shelves are being replenished, he said.

“The first week was panic buying,” Narayanan said. “After about two weeks, things have become more regular.”

You can reach Staff Writer Bill Swindell at bill.swindell@pressdemocrat.com.

The Press Democrat wants to know what stories you see emerging and what you're experiencing locally during the shelter-in-place order. Reach out to us at coronavirus@pressdemocrat.com.