A Burger Joint Pays $15 An Hour. And, Yes, It's Making Money
In suburban Detroit, a small but growing fast-casual burger and chicken chain has figured out how to pay higher wages and still be profitable.
When Moo Cluck Moo opened its first location almost two years, the starting pay for all workers was $12.00 an hour. The idea, according to co-founder Brian Parker, was to train everyone to multitask.
No one is just flipping burgers. All of the workers are expected to be jacks-of-all-trades: They bake buns from scratch daily, they house-make aioli and prepare made-to-order grass-fed burgers and free-range chicken sandwiches.
And, now, says Parker, the investment is paying off. Revenue is up at the chain's two locations. And workers are sticking around. And their pay now? It's up to $15 an hour. By comparison, a typical fast-food worker in the U.S. makes about $8 or $9 an hour.
"Because of our low turnover, and the fact that people are really into their jobs, $15 an hour wasn't a big stretch," Parker says.