Johnny Rockets offers starting wage of $15/hour in B.C.

Victoria – Johnny Rockets of Canada has opened its first two locations in Victoria, where it is offering employees a minimum wage of $15.

The restaurant specializes in hamburgers, chicken, fries and milkshakes.

With its head office in Victoria, parent company JR Canada Restaurant Group purchased The Johnny Rockets Master Development Rights for Canada in October 2015 with plans to open and operate its locations across Canada in high-traffic sites including food courts, street fronts, airports and retail malls in all provinces, the company said in a news release.

The restaurant is offering a minimum starting wage of $15 per hour for all team members and subsidized health-care insurance for those who opt in. The general minimum wage in B.C., as of September 2016, is $10.85.

“Johnny Rockets in Canada will set a new standard for the industry by how it treats its team members whereby we’ll be paying well above minimum wage,” said Lewis Gelmon, president and chief executive officer. “From the very start we wanted to be a company that puts people first in an industry that has a poor reputation with how it treats and pays its workers. We reverse-engineered our business plan to be profitable focusing on paying wages which are nearly 40 per cent higher than the minimum legislated amount in B.C., while still remaining competitive in both price and food quality.”

The chain’s next two locations are well under construction in Vancouver and expected to be open by fall.