Restaurant wage rates have been a complicated and divisive issue for years, going back long before the pandemic.
Minimum wage levels are climbing. The tipping model seems inherently unfair. Service charges are problematic. Labor advocacy groups like One Fair Wage would like to see the sub-minimum wage disappear. Industry groups like the National Restaurant Association are fighting to prevent that from happening.
Somewhere in the middle are independent restaurant and bar owners, who believe in the idea of a fair livable wage for their workers, but who also need to keep their businesses in operation, said Erika Polmar, executive director of the Independent Restaurant Coalition, or IRC.
This year, the coalition of independent restaurant and bar operators is planning to take on the great wage debate, and they’re looking for your input.
Founded in March 2020 as an advocacy group for independent operators—who face different issues than chains—the IRC has been working to give a voice to a very diverse membership of big and small businesses.
Over the past five years, the IRC has taken on a number of issues—advocating for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund during Covid, for example, taking on big banks over swipe fees, and pushing to exclude restaurant service charges from junk fee bans.
This year, the bold vision will be tackling one of the industry’s most persistent challenges: wages.
“We know for years the industry has been saying something’s got to change. We’re seeing members testing new models,” said Polmar. “So we think it’s clear the industry is evolving, and we as an organization have an opportunity to lead this conversation, rather than react to it.”
The coalition doesn’t have a solution to propose just yet, she added.
“We will spend the next year working with the industry to identify a solution. And we will spend a fair bit of time making sure we dial in the right solution before we introduce anything to Congress,” said Polmar.
On Thursday, the coalition—which has more than 100,000 members—introduced a new expanded board of directors, which will begin work on the group’s policy approach.
Cheetie Kumar, owner of the restaurant Ajja in Raleigh, North Carolina, is among those board members. She said one challenge of addressing wage issues is the variation from state to state.
Collectively, independent restaurants are one of the nation’s largest private-sector employers, but the math is different for each venue, she said.
“What we want is the ability for restaurant owners to decide what labor model works best for them,” she said. “What is the best way to be able to employ our people that’s meaningful, that enriches careers, that professionalizes the industry?”
Here are the IRC’s new volunteer board members:
- Oluwatoyin Adewumi, executive chef and owner, TamBo’s Kitchen in Avon, Massachusetts
- Nate Adler, owner, RAD Restaurants in Brooklyn, New York
- Tyler Akin, founder, Form-Function Hospitality, based in Philadelphia
- Codi Bates, owner/operator, Bates Co., operating in Lawrence and Topeka, Kansas
- Bob Bennett, head chef, Zingerman’s Roadhouse in Ann Arbor, Michigan
- Stella Dennig, co-owner and general manager, Daytrip in Oakland, California
- Dan Jacobs, chef and owner, DanDan & EsterEv, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Cheetie Kumar, chef and owner, Ajja in Raleigh, North Carolina
- Irene Li, CEO, Prepshift, Boston
- David Nayfeld, author, chef & co-founder, Back Home Hospitality, based in San Francisco
- Adam Orman, co-owner, L'Oca d'Oro & Bambino, in Austin, Texas
- Kristen Rauch, executive director, Eat Denver, based in Denver
- Hollis Wells Silverman, owner, Eastern Point Collective, in Washington, D.C.
- Rosa Thurnher, owner, El Ponce, in Atlanta
- Corrie Wang, owner/CFO, Jackrabbit Filly & King BBQ, in North Charleston, South Carolina.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a Restaurant Business member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.