NC bar owner: Why we raised employee pay. And why others should also.

In the service industry, the onus has always been on the customer to provide a tip. These tips have often translated to a living wage for many service workers, and for others, not so much.

While I believe tipping is a practice that should continue, it is time to rethink how the service industry pays its workers.

If we could reach a model more like Europe’s, where at many places the workers are paid a living wage and tips, then we could reignite the service industry’s workforce.

For too long, service jobs have been seen as transitory or “less than.” These are some of the hardest working people, tackling some of the most customer service-oriented jobs out there. It is time we paid them what they deserve for helping to make our businesses profitable.

Within the service industry of Orange and Chatham counties, a tipped living wage has always been easy to earn by restaurant and bar workers because we live and work in a relatively wealthy area. But a living wage is just that: Living . It doesn’t necessarily mean you are thriving. Nor does it mean you are saving money for emergencies or future goals, especially when you factor our area’s cost of living.

So, while many employers in food and beverage average out the old formula of $2.13/hour plus tips to determine whether their employees are making a living wage, we at Belltree Cocktail Club in Carrboro do not. We now pay our employees the requisite $15.85 per hour plus their tips. We do not hold back any of their tips.

We hope that other food and beverage businesses will do the same.

By raising wages Belltree was able to become certified as a living wage employer by Orange County Living Wage in June 2022.

The ability to implement these changes at Belltree came from months of planning, number crunching, and an expansion/renovation of our space. All of this to increase sales potential, in order to make the wage hike possible for my staff.

On the other hand, I am also the co-owner of another bar in town, where doing this has not been as easy, and therefore I am still working toward the same goal there.

Every operation is different. There is no “one size fits all” approach to implementing a living or “thriving” wage. Yet, this has to be done on a grand scale to save our industry by helping to make the individuals who keep it running fulfilled and secure.

There is a saying that goes: “Exorbitant profits are merely underpaid wages.” I believe this to be the truth, especially as it pertains to small businesses. We have to be the leaders of our communities and forget what the billionaires and corporations are doing.

Living wages mean happy, invested workers, and an amazing work environment. When no one is mad about what they make, there is room for so much more growth and maintenance.

Before we raised everyone to $15.85 plus tips, my employees still averaged a living wage or above. But now, they make a “thriving wage,” and as a result, so do I, as a partner in the Belltree Cocktail Club. The next you come in to enjoy a Negroni or a glass of wine, I ask that you continue to tip my exceptional team. They deserve it.

This story was originally published July 6, 2022 at 1:07 PM with the headline "NC bar owner: Why we raised employee pay. And why others should also.."