Very Spicy Chicken, & 401(k)s

Haven Hot Chicken co-founder Craig Sklar ticked through the ways that the local Nashville-style fried chicken takeout restaurant strives to be a responsible employer in an industry too often beset by low pay and high turn-over.

Hourly employees start out earning above minimum wage, plus tips. There are ample opportunities to rise the ranks to trainer or shift lead or even into corporate. All workers are eligible to receive employer-provided healthcare after they reach six months on the job.

Fellow business co-founder Jason Sobocinski quietly interrupted, pointing at Sklar from the side of the press conference and urging him not to forget another perk. ​“401(k),” he said.

Sklar and Sobocinski and their colleagues made that case for Haven Hot Chicken as not just a tasty place to eat, but also a sustainable place to work, during a press conference Wednesday morning hosted by U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro and Mayor Justin Elicker. Employees were present too, but paused to fill chicken orders for a steady stream of lunch-time customers.

DeLauro called the press conference to celebrate Haven Hot Chicken as the fastest growing business in the state, and one of the fastest in the country. Sobocinski — a veteran and accomplished New Haven food entrepreneur, and Wooster Square native — and Haven Hot Chicken CEO and co-founder Etikin Tekin said that the company, which was founded at 21 Whitney Ave. in 2020, just opened its ninth restaurant, in Fairfield. They’ve doubled their workforce from 70 employees to more than 160 over the past year. And they’re hoping to open a total of 25 stores by the end of 2025.

Amid praise for the restaurant’s hot and hotter fried chicken (and cauliflower!) dishes — they’ve succeeded in ​“identifying rich seasonings from the South and bringing them up north,” city economic development deputy Cathy Graves said on Wednesday — DeLauro also lauded the group for being a model employer.

Sobocinski said the company donates 50 cents to Connecticut Foodshare for the sale of each Banana Pudding desert purchased at Haven Hot Chicken. He said they’ve donated enough money to cover the cost of 106,000 free meals for those in need so far.

Haven Hot Chicken is also ​“committed to paying a fair living wage,” DeLauro said, and has a turnover rate for hourly employees that’s roughly half the industry average.

How much does the company pay?

Sklar said hourly employees start out at $16 an hour, above Connecticut’s $15.69 per hour minimum wage. They’re also eligible for tips, which tends to average out to around $4 an hour, he said.

“We provide a lot of opportunities” to rise up to greater levels of responsibility, and pay, he said, noting the $21 / hour trainer and $23 / hour shift lead roles. Etkin said that more than 20 Haven Hot Chicken employees have risen from hourly workers to general managers across the company.

He said that employees are eligible for employer-provided healthcare coverage after six months on the job, a new benefit for Haven Hot Chicken as of last year.

They’re also eligible for 401(k) retirement plans with an employer match.

“This all comes down to people,” Tekin said about what makes Haven Hot Chicken work.

In addition to heaping praise on Haven Hot Chicken for being a model employer and a prime example of a Connecticut food business to recover from the pandemic, DeLauro also strolled down memory lane a bit in reminiscing about how long she’s known Sobocinski and his family.

She recalled spending many hours with Sobocinski’s grandmother, Anna Valerio, and visiting the family when they lived by (and worked at) Wooster Street’s former Cavaliere’s Market, where they used to have ​“a torpedo-sized piece of provolone cheese.”

She said she was a frequent customer at Sobocinski’s late cheese restaurant Caseus on Trumbull Street. ​“I’m so delighted to be a customer again” at a Sobocinski co-led business, at Haven Hot Chicken.

And, she added, ​“you are going to say hello to your mom for me.” Sobocinski agreed.