Where to Eat If You Want to Support Restaurants That Pay Their Workers a Living Wage

[xchrom]

http://www.alternet.org/economy/where-eat-if-you-want-support-restaurants-pay-their-workers-living-wage?akid=11458.277129.VbNw8J&rd=1&src=newsletter952818&t=7



***SNIP

Let’s start with Miami’s Choices Vegan Cafe. Their food is organic, products recycled and/or compostable, and chemicals minimal. Just as importantly, their sustainable ethos carries over to labor practices. Although Florida’s minimum hourly wage for tipped workers is just $4.91, Choices Vegan Cafe starts all tipped workers off at $8.50. In fact, they never even considered paying tipped workers the bare minimum. Lori Zito, Senior Director, says, “If we can do it, anybody can.” They’re gearing up to open another location within the next month.

Ann Arbor Michigan’s Zingerman’s is a family-run chain with nearly 600 employees. From day one, they have paid well above the federal minimum wage and offered company-subsidized health care and paid time off. According to Paul Saginaw, one of 16 partners, “We have never considered these critical costs of doing business obstacles to profitability or our annual compounded growth rate of 10 percent.”

In 1997, Johnny Livesay started out as a busboy. Today he’s a founding member of Black Star Co-op in Austin, Texas. “Paying people well for the work they do is just the right thing to do,” he says. Their business model doesn’t allow tips, everyone makes a living wage after their first three months, and they encourage ownership of the business. “People should be able to afford to take care of their loved ones regardless of their jobs,” Livesay says. “It's not fair to pay so little to workers making your money for you.” Black Star Co-op thrives in Texas, one of many states where it is still legal to pay tipped workers $2.13 an hour.

In Los Angeles, one of the largest restaurant industries in the US, Diep Tran owns and operates the popular Good Girl Dinette . California is one of few states that has eliminated the tip credit, requiring all workers to be paid a minimum of $9.00 an hour. All her employees start above the minimum wage. “What’s a sustainable restaurant?” Tran asks, “It’s one in which as the restaurant grows, the people grow with it.”

[stillwaiting]

1. Big K&R. We have to be conscious consumers. nt

[Sentath]

2. Nice article about the list, here's a link to the list

http://rocunited.org/dinersguide/

None in Az I notice, sigh.

A couple of the nationals are ok at 2 stars. Sonic is on that short list. (I still won't go until they drop their current commercial line)

I wonder why Costco got no rating?

[Bryce Butler]

4. "I wonder why Costco got no rating?"

Costco isn't considered a restaurant.

[skepticscott]

3. I love Zingerman's and good for them

But let's face it..it's not a place that someone on a fixed income can afford to eat at. They have a fairly affluent customer base to draw from, both locals and tourists, and being a small operation, relatively speaking, they can cover the costs of higher employee wages and still make a profit. Whether that would work on a McDonalds-type scale is another matter.

It's a fair question to ask about any of these places..could someone who DOES only make minimum wage afford to eat there? What's the average income level of the customers they make their profit from?

[aikoaiko]

5. When servers make min wage+ do they still get tipped?

And if so, how much?