meant to supplement, not replace, the local workforce
As summer approaches in Glen Arbor, local businesses are once again preparing for an influx of seasonal visitors and the international workers who help serve them.
From grocery stores to restaurants, employers across the area rely on workers traveling on J-1 student visas and H-2B seasonal work visas to fill critical roles during the busier months of the year. While the programs offer cultural exchange opportunities, they also help businesses navigate ongoing labor shortages in a rural region with a limited workforce and tight housing market.
At Cherry Republic, about a dozen international workers are expected this summer, including five J-1 students and six H-2B employees pending visa approval. The workers primarily staff the Cherry Public House, filling both front of house and back of house roles and servers and cooks.
At Anderson’s Market, chief operating officer Leland Anderson said the business expects to employ 14 international workers this season in positions ranging from deli and cashier work, to stocking and produce.
For both businesses, those workers are essential to maintaining operation during the peak tourism season.
“The availability of international workers helps us cover the busiest times of the year from Memorial Day to Labor Day, without disruption to our service level for our customer,” human resources director at Cherry Republic, Nicole Agruda Kapala said. “This is a benefit to us in the fall when most seasonal workers return to school in late August and early September, the H-2B’s can remain working as crowds taper off.”
At Anderson’s, the need is driven mainly by a shrinking local labor pool.
“We really rely on them, but it’s more of a convenience for us…with declining numbers of people of a younger age in the area, it’s hard to get quality staff that you can rely on year after year,” Anderson said. “We have a lot of staff retirements coming up, and it helps knowing that we can get them back every year.”
Both businesses began incorporating international workers over the past decade. Anderson’s started with the J-1 programs around 2017 before expanding into the H-2B visa program, which allows employers to hire temporary non-agricultural workers for seasonal jobs. Cherry Republic has long hosted J-1 students and recently began adding H-2B workers to its staffing mix, including cooks and, for the first time this year, servers.
The two programs serve different roles. J-1 visas are designed for students enrolled in universities abroad, allowing them to work while experiencing the United States. H-2B workers, by contrast, are part of a capped federal program that operates on a lottery system and typically allows for longer employment periods.
That system, however, can introduce uncertainty for employers.
“Only so many visas are available each year, split between two seasons,” Kapala said. “Because of this, there is always a little bit of the unknown in the H-2B process, so our planning needs to include a backup plan.”
Still, both employers said the process has generally worked out well and Anderson noted that any delays tend to occur on the workers’ end.
In a region where affordable housing is scarce, both businesses have taken steps to provide accommodations for their international staff. Cherry Republic invested in employee housing prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, a move Kapala said has become increasingly important as the local housing market has tightened. Anderson’s also provides housing at a property in Maple City.
“Our area is still rural in many aspects, so to bring in workers here from overseas, we need to provide good housing and transportation,” Kapala said.
When it comes to transportation, Cherry Republic partners with the Bay Area Transportation Authority and provides additional options for shopping and daily needs, while Anderson’s maintains company vans that workers can use outside of work hours to explore the area.
Beyond staffing, employers say the programs bring cultural benefits to both workers and the community.
Cherry Republic organizes monthly cultural experience days, including trips to beaches, cherry orchards and local festivals. At Anderson’s, workers might find themselves out on Glen Lake aboard the owner’s boat.
“We do little excursions for them where they can get out and see the beautiful place we get to live,” Anderson said.
Many workers return for multiple seasons, particularly through the H-2B program, which offers more continuity. At Cherry Republic, several past J-1 employees have come back for additional summers, while Anderson’s typically brings back returning H-2B workers and hires new J-1 students each year.
Employers emphasized that international hires are meant to supplement, not replace, the local workforce. Both businesses continue to hire local high school and college students, building staff plans months in advance to meet seasonal demand.
“There are strict guidelines we follow when it comes to hiring international workers: we ensure that all the I’s are dotted, all the T’s are crossed, and no domestic workers or domestic workers’ hours are displaced,” Kapala said, adding that they have a good balance between international and domestic workers at the moment. “Everyone can learn together by working alongside each other.”
