Who works harder than Santa, the elves and all the reindeer put together during the holiday season?
Arguably restaurant workers do.
That’s why the restaurant tech company BentoBox and chef Chris Shepherd are trying to establish Dec. 14 as National Restaurant Workers Day.
The past few years have been rough on restaurant workers. Inflation is forcing some diners to forgo dining out. BentoBox, which handles digital ordering services for about 14,000 restaurants nationwide, says that consumers are tipping 21% less on online orders (from an average of $4.35 in October 2021 to about $3.44 in September this year).
National Restaurant Workers Day is designed to be a time when both consumers and employers look for ways to give thanks.
“It’s our way of showing our appreciation and celebrating restaurant workers across the country, who we interact with every day,” said Shepherd in a statement. “We’re also creating this day to spread awareness for the struggles they endure that often go unnoticed. From labor shortages to rising costs, the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated many of these issues, and it’s essential for us to come together and support the millions of people who power the restaurant industry.”
Shepherd, for example, is the founder of the Southern Smoke Foundation, a nonprofit founded in 2015 that offers crisis relief and support to food-and-beverage workers. He has also become a vocal advocate for caring about industry professionals' mental and physical health.
In a column for BentoBox, Shepherd urges employers across the industry to think about “taking care of our own,” a mission that he has taken on full-time.
A James Beard Award-winning chef and operator, Shepherd was a founder of Houston-based Underbelly Hospitality, known for such concepts as Georgia James, Underbelly Burger, Wild Oats and Pastore Italian Kitchen. He stepped away from the group earlier this year to focus full-time on Southern Smoke.
When asked what employers can do to show their appreciation to workers, he said the biggest thing could be simply offering proper health insurance and benefits like a 401K.
“Yes, it’s costly, but worth it for your employees’ state of mind. It also tends to drop your turnover rate,” he said in the column.
Other employers have also joined in the National Restaurant Workers Day movement, including pastry chef Natasha Pickowicz, who wrote about “Why Great Workplaces Make Great Restaurants.”
BentoBox is urging others to join in, offering employers 11 restaurant employee appreciation ideas:
- Give credit to staff who create dishes and drinks. At Dirt Candy in New York City, for example, owner Amanda Cohen puts the name of team members responsible for certain dishes on the tasting menus.
- Match fundraising contributions. If your workers are passionate about a cause, help support that passion with a dollar-for-dollar match.
- Host a team competition, like a cooking challenge, scavenger hunt or trivia night. Gramercy Tavern, for example, has an annual pie contest for a cash prize and a spot on the dessert menu.
- Celebrate employee milestones, like anniversaries and hitting professional goals.
- Offer professional development classes or stipends.
- Make mental health more accessible with services like counseling, mindfulness training or yoga.
- Spotlight team members on social media.
- Create an internal shout-out board for jobs well done.
- Cover the cost of one rideshare per month, just to make their day a little easier.
- Provide a paid floating holiday.
- Set up a mentoring program to create collaboration.
BentoBox also suggests using a custom online ordering fee as a “living wage fee” for staff, a service the tech company will offer starting Dec. 14. Extra fees can be challenging, however, and can leave a negative impression, according to sister company Technomic.
Around the country on Dec. 14, several restaurants are planning local events, including family dinners for employees or industry nights. Among them are Fish Cheeks and Musket Room in New York City; Phuc Yea in Miami; Dune and Pocha in Los Angeles; and Irwin’s in Philadelphia.
“Whether it’s small steps, such as increasing tips on online orders or leaving a positive restaurant review, or bigger steps, such as supporting restaurant organizations, we can collectively make a significant impact on restaurant workers,” said Krystle Mobayeni, BentoBox co-founder and head of restaurants at Fiserv.
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