Wilde Roast Café to offer livable wage, paid safe and sick time (PTO)

Stating that their staff is their restaurant’s most valuable asset, the owners of the Wilde Roast Café in Minneapolis today announce livable wage increases and paid safe and sick time for its workers.

The owners know that their staff’s work is what determines the success or failure of the business – and that too often workers across the state are left exhausted at the end of the day. The owners want to encourage the staff to have quality family time, time to recover from an illness, or take time to care of a family member when needed.

Wage increases for all non-tipped employees will start in mid-December and will rise incrementally until April 18 . These wage increases will amount to $14/hour for hosts and dishwashers and $15/hour for all cooks.

Safe and sick time will be implemented starting in the first full pay period in January. Employees will be able to take time off for sickness or to take care of a family member that is ill or take a mental health day.

“We are family here. We care for these people as much or even more than our own families,” said co-owner Dean Schlaak. “We are a team, and we appreciate each one of them.”

As restaurants strive to keep ahead in their highly competitive business, maintaining employees has never been issue at Wilde Roast Café. Some employees have been with the business for four and five years. Ensuring staff have time to recover from an illness and not worry about paying the bills just seems like the right thing to do for the Wilde Roast’s owners – especially when it comes to food safety and employee illness.

This March, the Wilde Roast Café will celebrate 12 years serving breakfast, lunch, dinner, coffee, wine, beer and desserts in the Northeast neighborhood. 

Comments

[David Tinjum]

From reader Doug Verdier: Good for Wilde Roast. They set a fine example for other establishments.Excellent customer service delivered by happy employees will only help their business and bottom line in the long run.