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Cougar Country hiring struggle delays re-opening

New owner of Cougar Mike Wagoner said they've made the necessary repairs, but they can't open up until he's hired a full staff.

PULLMAN, Wash. — We're still waiting on a re-opening date for the iconic Cougar Country in Pullman.

New owner of Cougar Country Mike Wagoner said they've made the necessary repairs, but they can't open up until he's hired a full staff.  

They've received many applications. But the struggle is finding applicants who can fill all the shifts, not just weekends.

"Of course being a campus town, we have a tremendous amount of great students that want to work here, which is great for evenings and weekends," Wagoner said. "But a little bit of a challenge trying to find a full crew to take care of the daytime shifts."

They're still taking applications, and looking for people with two simple things in mind: a love for Cougar Country and a love for Cougs.

"There's good people that come in that have zero food service or hospitality experience," Wagoner said. "They still might work out to be really good people."

Wagoner has already hired a few new employees for the drive-in. For now, they're training with his other staff at Zoe's Coffee House.

"Some of my staff say we want to keep these people," Wagoner said. "I say you can't, they're for Cougar Country."

Meantime, Wagoner shared some new additions. One being digital monitors so customers can see the menu when they walk in the door.

"We'll still have the old menus in the back so if you want stick your head through the window to see what you want, you can still do that," Wagoner said.

And don't worry, the fry sauce recipe will be just like you remember.

If you, or someone you know, has a few hours free during the day, send them to Cougar Country with an application. Until then, Wagoner said just keep those hungry eyes on their Facebook page for the opening date.

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The following video is a report on Cougar Country being unable to reopen by WSU's 2019 home opener.

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