Klavon's Ice Cream Parlor in Pittsburgh raising minimum wage to $15 an hour

As restaurants, sweet shops and other eateries begin opening back up with increased capacity, many are finding that lining up enough workers has become a challenge.

One of Pittsburgh’s favorite ice cream parlors may have come up with a way to entice people to come to work for them.

Klavon’s Ice Cream Parlor, a Strip District destination since 1923, announced it is paying employees $15 an hour – plus tips — beginning April 1. The store is serious about staying open until 9 p.m., seven days a week this summer and needs plenty of good help to make that happen.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” said owner Jacob Hanchar, referring to his difficulty finding employees, despite lingering high unemployment from the pandemic-related recession. “It’s an industrywide thing. By now, we should have five or six people hired, and we don’t have one. We usually staff up to 11-15 people by summer.”

Klavon’s is challenging others in the restaurant and/or ice cream business to also raise their minimum hourly wage. Pennsylvania’s minimum wage has been $7.25 an hour since 2009.

In addition, Hanchar said managers will get equity in the company.

“You’ll be owning a piece of the business while you’re here,” he said. “I don’t think there are any other restaurants out there where you can gain some ownership of the company.”

Pittsburgh area political leaders are expressing their approval.

“I’m happy to see Klavon’s, a city treasure, set the bar for a livable wage,” said Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto.

“The ‘Graceland of Pittsburgh ice cream’ knows how sweet a living wage is,” Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman said.

Klavon’s is taking safety precautions. Employees wear masks, are shielded by glass partitions, and consumers are kept socially distanced. So far, no customers or employees have gotten sick with covid-19, according to Hanchar.

“All of our employees are going to be vaccinated soon,” he said. “We’ll be masked up anyway. It’s going to be a safe work environment.”