What If a Fast-Food Restaurant Paid $17 An Hour?

Four years ago, a Chick-fil-A operator decided to try. Here's how it turned out.

- By Frances Dodds

A little over four years ago, on a clear, sunny day in Sacramento, California, a TV news crew pulled up to a Chick-fil-A at the corner of a busy intersection. An American flag fluttered on a pole in the parking lot, and palm trees swayed above the Ford dealership across the street. The crew was there for a feel-good story.

“Imagine making $17 an hour working at a fast-food restaurant, a local ABC anchor said, introducing the segment. “And you'd get sick time, personal days, vacation days. Well, that is going to be the reality for one Chick-fil-A here in Sacramento.

The protagonist of this happy tale was Eric Mason, the operator of the Chick-fil-A in question. A former baseball player, Mason has a dense, athletic build, with a clean-shaven head and expressive brown eyes. “They're trying to survive,” he said of his employees at the time. “When we go to the living wage, we're looking for people trying to raise families and improve their lifestyles.

In news clips from that day, Mason can be seen working the register in an Oxford button-down, bustling to tables with trays of chicken sandwiches and chatting up customers. “Enjoy!” he says, doling out fresh waffle fries to a party of teens. He is the picture of confidence, and competence.

But looking back on that moment, he admits, I was scared. I was super scared. I didn't know if it was going to work entirely.”