Some businesses that have remained open during the coronavirus pandemic and seasonal business reopening now are looking to hire employees.

Tri County Management, which owns 19 area McDonald's restaurants, wants to hire employees at above minimum-wage pay for its four locations in Butler County even though they are limited to drive-through service, curbside pick up or third-party delivery.

“We don't start anyone at minimum wage,” said Andy Grandinetti, Tri County Management director of operations. “Crew positions start at $10 per hour.”

Tri County employs 200 to 250 people at its McDonald's restaurants at Butler Crossing, Clearview Mall, Greater Butler Mart and Portersville.

“The number we will hire depends on availability,” Grandinetti said. “We have room for 10 to 15 per restaurant depending on availability.”

The restaurants offer flexible hours for kitchen, service and a few maintenance positions to anyone from high school students to retired people looking for part-time work, he said.

People can apply at mchire.com or obtain a paper application from the drive-through.

The restaurants are preparing to gradually restore normal operations.

“As we think about getting ready to reopen it's just making preparations, because we don't know what the rules and laws will be. Our first step will be to open for takeout. We'll probably take a cautious approach to reopening,” Grandinetti said.

Additional sanitization and disinfectants will be available for customers and employees, employee face masks will be readily available, glass panels will be installed to separate employees and customers and restaurants will be cleaned.

“We're just trying to make sure we're cleaned up and looking good. We're trying to make sure we're as clean and sanitary as possible. People's awareness will be heightened,” he said.

During the pandemic, Tri County's McDonald's are providing 50 meals a day to emergency responders and health care workers and have donated 400 meals to Butler Health System.

“It gives us the ability to keep working while helping out in the community,” Grandinetti said.

The state allowed construction-related businesses to open beginning May 1 and local companies are now preparing for what they hope will be a good spring and summer.

Almost all of Penn Fencing of Butler's 50 employees return from winter layoffs for the construction season, but a couple people are usually hired every spring, said Chad Galbreath, president.

“Almost 100 percent come back, but we're always looking to hire new people in the spring also,” Galbreath said. “It's been difficult in the sense that we can't set up any interviews.”

The company's plan to hire interns for welding and automated gate systems are in limbo because colleges wouldn't allow their students to be interviewed.

“It's been an extremely difficult process this year,” Galbreath said.

He said operations are slowly ramping up with some employees returning to work this week, others next week and more the following week, he said.

Obtaining materials has also been challenging.

Galbreath said some deliveries have been delayed because employees of the suppliers weren't allowed to work.

“Several suppliers both in state and out of state were shut down,” he said.

Employees returned to work at Fulena Pavers of New Castle later than usual Monday, but more will have to be hired as the season progresses, said administrative assistant Cindy Bucey.

“We started back to work today, but it's usually the second or third week in April depending on the weather,” Bucey said.

The company's 23 employees return to work every spring, including three who have been working there for 30 years, she said.

“The more the business picks up, the more we need truck drivers and laborers,” Bucey said.

In addition, she said two or three replacement employees are typically hired during the season.

Asphalt plants and stone suppliers are up and running to allow Fulena to bid on large commercial paving jobs and smaller residential driveway jobs, she said.

Some customers who wanted work done before the pandemic will hopefully want that work done now, she said.

“I believe we're going to have a good year,” Bucey said.

Workers at Bulldog Garage Builders in Valencia returned to work Monday when the company began reconnecting with suppliers and customers.

“We're in the educational phase of it. We're turning over stones, making phone calls trying to find out what this is going to look like,” said Denny Steele, sales associate.

Suppliers are telling the company that they have a lot of supplies on hand, but they need more truck drivers to deliver the materials from lumber yards and storage sites, Steele said.

However production facilities have difficulty filling new orders, he said.

“Customers are evaluating their budgets — residential and commercial,” Steele said. “They want to move forward providing their jobs stay sound on the residential side of it.”