Manhattan restaurant owner pays all staff $25 hour

Amanda Cohen, who owns the vegetarian tasting restaurant Dirt Candy, raised her wages to $25 per hour when she reopened her indoor dining in May 2021. Realizing how some workers were struggling financially during the lockdown, Cohen said she previously thought she was paying her staff a living wage, but it became clear that she was not paying them enough.

“I know none of them have enough savings to get over this,” she told Insider. “I want my staff to have more.”

Chefs used to be paid between $ 18 and $ 21 an hour and front desk staff between $ 23 and $ 25. Now their salaries all start at $ 25, with built-in increases based on seniority, she said.

“I still think we don’t pay them enough,” she said.

Cohen said Dirt Candy, which now has around 25 employees, offers employees paid time off and health insurance. She said in other industries these provisions were “just standard, but in a restaurant it has sort of become the norm not to treat our employees like professionals.”

The restaurant also has a no-tip policy, which has been in place since 2015.

Cohen said the salary increases meant she had to raise prices by about 30%.

She also streamlined the restaurant menu. It used to offer five- and ten-course tasting menus, but now it only offers a five-course menu, which she says has lowered the cost of restaurant food and allowed her to pay more. the staff.

“We focus on people coming first and everything comes second,” Cohen said. “I cannot be successful without a staff.”

Other restaurants have expressed concern that the price hikes could lead to fewer visitors, but Cohen said his menu changes haven’t deterred diners. She said the restaurant, which seats 44, serves between 85 and 90 diners an average night, which was about the same as before the pandemic.

“I think for a pandemic we are doing very well,” she said.