Melt Bar and Grilled looking for 80 employees for new Mentor restaurant

MENTOR, Ohio - More than a hundred people came to the job fair in Mentor hosted by Melt Bar and Grilled on Tuesday.

The restaurant is looking to hire between 70 and 80 people for its new restaurant opening up.

"It all comes down to our customer base," said regional general manager Bob Gould. "We opened our first store about six years ago and it’s been continuously busy."

Melt is hiring servers, hosts and dishwashers. You would expect people from the restaurant industry to apply for a job, but there were quite a few recent college graduates there.

"My masters is in applied anatomy," said John Lusoski, a graduate of Case Western.

"I was hoping I would find something before I finished that other job, but no one wanted to hire me,” Lusoski said. His other job? Working for the department of anatomy.

“Donors who would call in to give their body after death," Lusoski said.

Amanda Blasko graduated from Lake Erie College this past May. She has a duel major and speaks Spanish. She is hoping to be a translator, but for now, a server at Melt will do.

"It's tough to find a job right now," she said. "While I'm looking I might as well make some money on the side.”

The current unemployment rate is just about 7 percent.

Dave Reines, of the Employment Connection, said many of the mid-range jobs are gone, leaving the high paying and low paying.

"Since the recession, you have seen a lot of jobs disappear completely," he said. "Employers are looking for the soft skills. Folks that show up on time, look professional, basic computer skills that they can use the first day on the job."

The Melt job fair continues on Wednesday.