When COVID-19 restrictions first came down, it was a big deal for restaurants and diners, but now, looking back, for those in the business, and people like Gram’s Diner co-owner Kyle Hayes, it was so much bigger than anyone outside the industry truly understood.
It wasn’t just a struggle for owners, who had to shutter their doors to customers, but their employees, too, who not only depended on having work, but for the customers to be there.
What You Need To Know
- Kyle Hayes co-owns Gram’s Diner in Adams and typically has 12 or so employees
- Earlier this year, Hayes began to offer retirement incentives to his employees, as a way to say thank you, and to change the perception that restaurant work can never be a career
- New York state has since created a retirement program that it is requiring small businesses with more than 10 employees to enroll all employees in, if they don’t already offer retirement. Employees can opt out
“When that was the plan, there were a lot of people who didn’t have tips coming in,” Hayes said. “They didn’t have their hourly wages coming in. I think it’s important that people understood that we need to change the industry so that doesn’t happen again.”
Part of that change, Hayes believes, is changing the way hospitality is perceived. Hayes wants to change a “stop-over” or “side job” stereotype to help make a restaurant a career with better wages, health care and even retirement.
“The idea really came when we were trying to personally plan for myself and for my family for retirement income,” Hayes added.
Hayes thought, why not everyone at the diner? Gram’s typically has 12 or so employees on payroll, and offering a 401K could be a game changer post-COVID not only for his restaurant, but perhaps as an example for others.
“When we talked with our employees, we asked who had a retirement plan,” Hayes said. “Very few of them had it. So we thought, this is a great way to kind of help them in the future. For the young kids, it helps them start early.”
Not only is the staff at Gram’s grateful, but it’s the exact sort of gesture that makes them want to stay.
“It’s not generally something that you think about all the time, until your 40s creep up on you,” said Marie Wagner, a Gram’s employee. “Then, all of a sudden you are like, what am I going to do? It’s good to know that they have our backs.”
Hayes says he’s grateful for his staff and the community that supports him so he can afford to do this.
For those who cannot, New York state is now requiring small businesses with more than 10 employees, that do not offer benefits, to add employees to a new state retirement program. Now, employees can opt out, but Hayes says that’s a great step in achieving the overall goal.
“It’s not something you have to think about as, this is what’s I am going to do for two or three years, but it’s now something that this is what I can do for the rest of my life,” Hayes said.
However, knowing how much easier it’ll be for his staff, Hayes will continue to offer it at his diner on his own.
The New York state plan is in the form of a payroll deduction. Employers are not required to contribute.
