Why Hometown Culinary Chooses a Living Wage

Adam Koch, Owner, Chef · Jen Attfield, Owner, General Manager
Hometown Culinary, Medicine Hat

Medicine Hat restaurant owner Adam Koch shares why Hometown Culinary became a Living Wage Employer, what it has meant for the business, and why he believes investing in staff matters.

I am writing as one of the owners/operators of Hometown Culinary, an independently owned restaurant in Medicine Hat,
to outline our thoughts on the Alberta Living Wage Network and our decision to be come registered employers. Like any
small businesses, we operate as part of the broader community. As such, we feel that paying a fair, livable wage to our staff
contributes meaningfully to the rising tide of our growing culinary scene. We also provide 50% co-pay benefits to full-time
staff and don’t prompt for tips on our POS terminals.

My sister Jen and I are immensely proud to be living wage employers! We're one of only two employers in the city who are
registered, and we're the only restaurant (as of writing) in southern Alberta. I don't say this to celebrate ourselves, but to
outline that we are intentional about investing in our teams' compensation. Alberta’s minimum wage hasn’t risen in a
decade, so it's the responsibility of individuals to help care for each other. We started exploring the ALWN before opening
in the fall of 2024 because we believe in investing in our staff, literally and figuratively. We were inspired by a friend in
Ontario whose restaurant is registered with the OLWN, and who has seen the benefits since they opened in 2012.

The benefit is a little hard to quantify, but we do have relatively low turnover. We also don’t face the issues that many other
restaurants do around scheduling, where servers only want to work the “prime” (busy) shifts. We are deliberate not to
insist upon ourselves, so we don’t exploit these decisions and business practices for marketing purposes. It’s simply
something we do because we believe in it. We do, however, have a dedicated base of regular clients who frequent
Hometown simply because of our progressive approach, so it could be a marketing angle if we wanted it to.

I feel the need to be completely transparent here. Our labour costs are roughly 20-25% higher than our restaurant
colleagues, who mostly pay minimum wage and rely on customers to supplement staff income through tips. Our approach
was met initially with mixed reviews and emotion ranging from suspicion to confusion to appreciation. I won’t pretend it
was all positive. We live in a community best described as traditional and status quo, and we don’t assume we’re on the
leading edge of a wholesale change to business practices locally.

Small businesses are essential to employment, downtown vibrancy, and long-term economic health in Medicine Hat.
Allwork has value, and we are proud to recognize it. We're doing better because it's important to us to be good citizens, good
employers, and to help foster responsible, productive members of our community instead of simply exploiting their labour
for the lowest common denominator.

Written by Adam Koch

Chef & Co-Owner, Hometown Culinary Inc.