I cooked for a little over a decade all said and told. Eight of those ten years I made less then $10 bucks/hour. Food is a difficult thing to make money on in the USA. Without margin, wages cannot increase. Last time I checked margin in the food business was less then 3% of total revenue. let me say that again, 3%. It MAY be worse now. Mass production is the ONLY way to stay afloat for a food business. Thus employees that are not a part of the service portion of the business, feel the squeeze.

To fix the problem, look no further then COGS.

1. Smaller menus (less margin in the trash)

2. Aggressively seasonal selections (cheaper then any other food)

3. Be a part of the community you are serving (intangible but sticky customer base)

4. Pair down customer capacity (smaller team = more hours per employee)

5. Salaries instead of hourly (cheaper, longer term employees)

6. Add the frickin 5% to that $30 plate of food

7. Consider limited hours (staying open 16 hours is stupid and wasteful)