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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe debut of the Speedway eatery Borage in June was one of the hottest local restaurant launches in recent memory, covered by most of the major media outlets in the Indianapolis market—including IBJ. Its co-creators—Josh Kline and Zoe Taylor—had won considerable acclaim as chefs for nationally lauded Milktooth in Fletcher Place. The concept for Borage was unique, combining a restaurant, a bakery and a market in one L-shaped building. And Taylor and Kline wanted to make a point of providing fair compensation for employees, guaranteeing at least $20 an hour.
IBJ’s Dave Lindquist outlined their plans—and the investment from a local real estate developer that made the project possible—in a story that ran on June 7. This edition of the IBJ Podcast follows up on how the business is shaking out after the June 12 grand opening. Zoe Taylor brings us up to date on what she and Kline have learned in the last six weeks about what’s working and what has needed tweaking.
As Taylor readily admits, running the financial side of a restaurant doesn’t come easy to them, so perhaps their biggest challenge has been learning how to budget and make the business sustainable. Borage hasn’t been profitable right out of the gate, and Taylor and Kline realize the timeline for profitability for a small independent restaurant typically stretches many months. For the time being, they’re opting not to take salaries.
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Looking for another podcast to try? Check out IBJ’s The Freedom Forum with Angela B. Freeman, a monthly discussion about diversity and inclusion in central Indiana’s business community.
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“Guaranteeing $20 an hour”, and the biggest challenge being to learn the “financial side” of a restaurant, doesn’t seem like they would go together – at least not very long.
Should absolutely guarantee $20+ to the best people, but setting that as a floor to your poor performers, likely doesn’t leave any room to reward your top performers, and will probably not give a great experience over long-term.
This screams of people who are talented and passionate about food but have no idea how the real world works.