kō•än in Cary has recently announced that they will be delaying the opening of their dine-in option to adjust their dining room areas and shift how they pay their staff. They will also keep their bar closed + so•ca — their sister restaurant in Raleigh — will implement similar measures.

With the changes in how we dine in at restaurants due to COVID-19, kō•än will only seat 30% of their 334 occupancy, meaning fewer people will be eating at their restaurant per day. To support their staff, the restaurants will increase pay to $15 an hour + benefits. The management team says they are increasing compensation to make servers less reliant on the good will of guests through tipping or on a full house for their income.

With this living wage model making its way into Raleigh and already in effect at places like Monuts in Durham, could we see this trend growing in our area? Do you want to see more of this implemented in our restaurants as they begin to open up their dining rooms?

Share your thoughts with us on this idea for the Triangle.