Austin Fast-Food Chain P. Terry’s Raises Minimum Wage to $15 an Hour for Full-Time Employees

P. Terry’s Raises Minimum Wage for Full-Time Employees
Local fast-food chain P. Terry’s Burger Stand has increased the minimum wage to $15 an hour for full-time employees. The raises, which took effect in January, represented an average increase of 25 percent and $5,000 per year. To accommodate the raises, the company increased prices on menu items by two percent in October and absorbed the rest of the costs. However, this change only affected employees working 30 hours or more per week, which represents about a third of the restaurant group’s staff of over 900 people (who do not get tips). Though it’s unclear what wages are for part-time workers, the company’s website states wages are “never less than $11 an hour.” Still, this is more than the state minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. The company increased its staff 40 percent in 2020 and opened five new locations in 10 months.

Amplify Austin’s Day of Giving
The city’s annual fundraising event, Amplify Austin Day, where people are encouraged to donate generously to local nonprofits, is taking place this week. Run by the I Live Here I Give Here organization, the 700+ nonprofit list includes Good Work Austin, Urban Roots, Capital Area Food Bank, Sustainable Food Center, Keep Austin Fed, and much, much more.

It begins on Thursday, March 4 at 6 p.m., and runs through Friday, March 5 at 6 p.m. There’s a virtual event component as well, Amplify Live, with a schedule of musical performances during the same time.

Other Austin restaurants and businesses are contributing in additional ways. North Burnet brewery Hopsquad Brewing Company will donate one dollar of every beer sold now through Thursday, March 4 to music nonprofit Austin Soundwaves. Skyview brewpub the Brewtorium will donate portions of every sale made from 4 to 10 p.m. on Thursday, March 4 to the Mothers’ Milk Bank. Red River District restaurants Hoboken Pie and Pelons Tex-Mex will donate partial proceeds from all pizza slice sales and classic taco plate sales respectively to Amplify Austin now through closing time on Friday, March 5. Tito’s will match donations to nonprofits in the arts and culture category up to $20,000.

Soccer Cider
Austin’s forthcoming soccer stadium for the Austin FC team now has an official cider: Austin Eastciders. This means one dollar of every pint of cider sold at watch parties held at the East Austin tasting room and the Barton Springs restaurant will be donated to the soccer team’s nonprofit branch 4ATX Foundation. The Barton Springs location will eventually sell a tailgate meal package with chicken wings, pizza, dips, ice cream, and cider.

Downtown Irish Pub
Downtown restaurant Cedar Door co-owners Heather and Steve Potts turned their next-door Italian restaurant La Volpe into an Irish pub. Foxy’s Proper Pub opened on February 17 for dine-in services only. Takeout and curbside pickups will be added later. The indoor and outdoor space will serve cocktails, Irish whiskeys, taps of Guinness, beers, and pub food like Scotch eggs, seafood chowder, fish and chips, and Irish breakfasts. Rounding out the team are operations manager Brittany O’Connor, beverage director Benjamin Levario, and bar person Johnny Magennis (who used to own Red River Irish bar Bull McCabe’s). Hours are from 2 p.m. to midnight daily.

Note: Currently, Foxy’s Proper Pub is only open for dine-in service, and there are still safety concerns surrounding indoor dining in Austin. For updated information on coronavirus cases in your area, please visit the City of Austin website. Studies indicate that there is a lower exposure risk when outdoors, but the level of risk involved with patio dining is contingent on restaurants following strict social distancing and other safety guidelines.