Nathan JoyceKitsap Sun

Although the restaurant industry has recovered slightly since the pandemic's peak, many restaurants are still facing overwhelming challenges that keep them from running their operations smoothly. Even as restrictions are slowly being lifted, restaurants can't operate at 100 percdntdue to increasing operational costs and an unprecedented labor shortage. Restaurant owners must develop new ways to work more efficiently and attract more customers.

For most of the last decade, the Ellstrom team was battling with Oh Boy! Oberto to be the top hydroplane in the H1 Unlimited Fleet.Now the Ballard-based Ellstrom team, which has competed as the Miss Elam Plus, the 96 Spirit of Qatar and Ellstrom racing, has become Oh Boy! Oberto.The Seattle-based beef jerky company decided last year to stop sponsoring hydroplanes — something it had done since 1975.But when the Ellstrom boat pulled up to the pits in the Tri-Cities last weekend for the Columbia...