"We’ve got really qualified, experienced people, so why wouldn’t anybody want to hire them?"

The transformation of part of the Sundial in St. Petersburg into a food hall will mean the loss of 131 jobs as the Locale Market and Farm Table Cucina close at the beginning of the year.

In a notice filed with the state of Florida, Sundial owner Bill Edwards said layoffs are expected to take place the first week of January. As of Friday, he said about 25 to 30 employees already had found new jobs and left.

In all, the cuts are expected to include 38 cooks and chefs, 16 dishwashers, 12 runners, bussers and barbacks, nine servers and nine managers.

The layoffs are taking place as a result of both businesses closing to make way for the food hall.

Read more at the Tampa Bay Times