An Idaho restaurant has prioritized the well-being of employees. He paid.

At the Kin’s Restaurant Fix, the menu changes every five weeks, and it’s still a group project.

Having five staff members or more to work together to think about a tasting menu, dividing the kitchen and gathering the ingredients may seem a disaster recipe, but Kris Komori and Remi McManus, Kin’s co -owners, do not bother you the challenge. Collaboration is an integral part of their restaurant, even if it requires tests and errors.

“We do not necessarily have general directors and things like that,” said McManus. “We all work as an entity and as a unit.”

This state of mind even extends to the way in which Komori and McManus attack payroll and prioritize the equality of wages. The owners offer all the full -time staff a salary with services such as paid leave and health insurance. This differs from the typical restaurant model in which some staff members receive the minimum wage for tilting workers, while mainly based on optional gratifications.

In a rapidly changing industry known for professional exhaustion and downward management, the approach to work culture could be less common. But Komori, who is also Kin’s Head Chef, said that the Boisse restaurant had always been an aberrant value.

“We are not trying to change an industry from the whole restoration or even a woods itself, but we knew that we could create something a little different,” said Komori.

Their efforts have borne fruit. In 2023, Komori won a James Beard Award and, in 2024, Food & Wins listed the restaurant as one of the 20 best restaurants in the country.

During separate calls, Komori and McManus spoke with Business Insider of how they promote the well -being of employees at Kin – and the way other restaurants can also adopt a better workplace culture.

This interview has been modified for duration and clarity.

Business Insider: Tell me a little about Kin’s work environment. How do you try to stand out with regard to the well-being of employees?

Remi McManus: For years in the catering industry, there has been a great divergence in remuneration, in particular the front and back of the house. We are trying to develop equality through equality of remuneration to all staff members. Our objectives were to develop more professionalism in the industry in Idaho and to allow our staff and our community more than in my previous restaurant, State & Lemp.

Kris Komori: part of the company’s basic competence is to connect to our customers and the community, but it is mainly a question of connecting with our team. These are still long and stressful sometimes, but if we can have people excited to come and work instead of dreading it, it’s just a happier place.

How did you develop a sustainable business model that can take personnel into account on salary?

McManus: It is important for employees to appropriate their functions. This means engaging them in different responsibilities that play their strengths and discuss the things they would like to see in the restaurant. We have a graphic designer who is a member of the service staff and helps us to make publications on social networks and a graphics for menus. We had a bartender who left to be our full -time accountant. We have individuals who have experiences outside the restaurant that we can use to change the dynamics of what this space is really. While most people see us as a restaurant, we consider ourselves more as a community engagement center with food and drinks as a vehicle.

Komori: Since our tasting room is reserved for booking, we know how many people arrive and what are their allergies or their food restrictions. Based on our ability, we also know how much command and preparation. We can be effective on the cost of goods, then put this in the pay.

Why do you think that a work culture focused on the community is a less common approach in most kitchens and restaurants?

McManus: It’s very expensive. The restaurants are quite transient and other owners do not potentially have the time or the desire to invest as much in their employees. We are called Kin for many reasons, but one is due to the fact that 100% of the staff who was with us at State & Lemp came to Kin. It was as if we were a family creating a new establishment.

Komori: One of the reasons why many places do not do it is that you must also get a lot of membership of the team in terms of rotary schedules, knowing that everyone deserves free time. Sometimes it requires intervening. If someone is on vacation, then everyone has to shoot a little more, but you go on vacation yourself and the others do it for you.

It is a compromise for staff saying that you can have a career, sustainable finances and days off in a restaurant. Because we have more people in the staff, we can run the schedules. As long as everyone has accession and supports each other, it works very well.

How does the prioritization of collaboration and creativity help promote a more welcoming workplace?

McManus: Every employee wants to have the impression of being appreciated at work. Because we are a small staff, we are able to engage with them on a daily basis. Whether it is a collaboration on a dish or activities outside the workplace, the development of these intimate relationships is cooked in our philosophy.

When we offer menu ideas, it’s not necessarily just Kris or myself. Being able to rely on individuals who have been here for years and also some of the new people for ideas is probably the best thing we can do. People who have been doing something again and again for years – they need new ideas. The collaboration process is probably one of the most effective things we have in the restaurant right now.

Komori: All those who come here want to create. What is cool in our tasting room is that it starts with a dish, but over time, the staff creates dozens of dishes, and they are starting to notice their own style. They also learn to plan, to order at a cost and to write a preparation calendar. This is really important because probably a quarter of the kitchen will want to have its own place, or at least become a chef with his own team. It’s a lot to change the menu, but it’s also fun.

How can other leaders and owners adopt this culture in the workplace and maintain these practices?

McManus: We accept gratuities, but we use them to finance wages. I believe, in some larger cities, there are restaurants that have moved away from optional tips and have simply added them to the bill or have increased prices so that they can have a similar remuneration structure.

Komori: We always wonder if the way we do things is the best way to do it. You just need to want to change. You ask your staff: “Hey, we want to try something for the benefit of the company and to benefit from you. Are you ready to experiment with it?” And then you correct the course.

We have good detention and our guests are happy to support a place trying to support healthy and durably its crew. We therefore obtain the loyalty of customers, which stabilizes income and helps maintain the system.

How do you think restaurants can be more than eating places and places to work for customers and staff?

McManus: It comes back to culture. If you take the time and energy to find out more about the staff, have these conversations, communicate and offer a property, then it shows itself among staff members and it shows the guests and the community.

Komori: partly the reason we are named parents is not only because we try to be like a group of united people who really line up with each other, but we also want to have the impression that we invite people with us. For this reason, we know a lot about our regulars. Sometimes we feel like a restaurant, but other times we are more than a restaurant – we just have our product to be food and drinks. If we are going to work so hard, we want to feel good about it and cook for someone again and again behind a wall, you lose this connection.