Hospitality expo hopes to serve up future workers

BELOIT — More than 300 students from southern Wisconsin bounced around downtown Beloit Tuesday, taking part in hands-on cooking demonstrations at Merrill & Houston’s Steak Joint, learning how to make smoothies and coffee at Irontek and touring Henry Dorrbaker’s.

It was part of a Pro-Start Career & Industry Expo aimed at showing high school students that the hospitality industry isn’t just a first job until you find a real career, but a career path that will always need workers. Students from 15 schools came, including Beloit Memorial and Janesville Craig and Parker. The expo drew a dozen employers.

“The hospitality and culinary industry will always exist and grow given our basic human needs to eat, drink and sleep, along with the desire for unique and personalized experiences,” said Alex Vernon of the Madison-based Wisconsin Restaurant Association Education Foundation. “People like going to a restaurant and hotel to get top-notch service, and that’s something robotics will never be able to replace.”

Vernon said the foundation began hosting ProStart Career & Industry Expos in 2018 and this was the 12th, but it was the first in Beloit. The foundation partnered with Geronimo Hospitality Group, which is a growing part of the Hendricks Holding Co. empire. ProStart is a national culinary arts and hospitality education program run by the National Restaurant Association Education Foundation.

According to Klaus Nitsch, senior vice president of casual concepts for Geronimo Hospitality, the company now operates 35 properties in four states. In the Beloit area, Geronimo has 10 operations that employ 409 people. By itself, Geronimo is one of Beloit’s 10 largest employers.

Nitsch said the industry still is recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic when, according to the U.S. Dept. of Labor, the number of people working in the hotel industry dropped from 2.4 million to 1.7 million in one year and about 110,000 restaurants closed permanently.

“We’re in a good position right now. We’re not as needy as we were a couple of years ago,” Nitsch said. “But this is an industry where you are always looking for people and we wanted to bring this expo here to expose students who are already showing interest in the field a look at what it is like behind the scenes.”

Rollins Johnson and Olivia Buchanan of Beloit Memorial illustrated two types of interested students. Johnson has been working at Pizza Hut for two years and is interested in the industry as a career.

“I got to see a lot of different jobs today and they all seemed awesome,” said Johnson, who said he’d be interested in starting out as a line cook. “If I landed at a place I was passionate about, I could see myself staying there.”

Buchanan said her goal is to become a psychologist, but she’s always had an interest in the hospitality industry.

“What I learned today is that there are times that are difficult, but you have a team to help you,” Buchanan said. “There are a lot of opportunities. I’m still really interested.”