I wasn't looking for a cause when I started hiring people with records. I was looking for warm bodies who'd show up on time and not walk out mid-shift during a Friday night rush. That was 2009, somewhere in the middle of the recession, and my Baton Rouge restaurant couldn't keep a line cook longer than six weeks.
A guy from the local workforce development office kept calling me. Finally picked up. He had three candidates-all with felony convictions, all wanting kitchen work. I was skeptical. But I was also running doubles myself because I couldn't staff the smoker station.
Two of those three hires stayed with me over four years. One eventually ran my prep kitchen.
The Staffing Problem Nobody's Really Solving
Restaurant chains are crossing 1,000 locations at an increasing clip now. Expansion is happening. But here's what the growth headlines don't mention: who's actually going to work in these kitchens?
The labor math hasn't changed. If anything, it's gotten worse. Average turnover in foodservice still hovers around 75% annually for hourly positions. Some operations run higher. Every time you lose a line cook, you're eating $3,000-$5,000 in replacement costs between recruiting, training, and the productivity gap while the new person figures out your system.
Run a high-volume operation with, say, 12 hourly kitchen staff? At 75% turnover, you're replacing 9 people a year. That's $27,000-$45,000 walking out your door annually-before you even factor in the quality hits during transition periods.
And yet there's an entire labor pool most operators won't even interview.
The Numbers Nobody Talks About
Roughly 70 million Americans have some kind of criminal record. That's not a typo. About one in three working-age adults has something that shows up on a background check-everything from old misdemeanors to serious felonies.
Most of these people aren't dangerous. A lot of them made one bad decision in their twenties and have been paying for it ever since. But the blanket "no felonies" policy that most hiring managers default to? It eliminates a massive chunk of the available workforce.
Here's what I've seen consistently across the operators I've worked with who've tried this: retention rates for second-chance hires typically run 15-25% higher than general population hires in the same roles. Not always. But often enough that the pattern holds.
Why? Think about it from their perspective. If you've been turned down by 40 employers and somebody finally gives you a shot, you're not job-hopping for an extra fifty cents an hour. You show up. You don't call in sick because you're hungover. You've got something to prove-to yourself and to everyone who wrote you off.
What the Tax Code Already Knows
The federal Work Opportunity Tax Credit has been around since the 90s, and most restaurant operators still don't use it. For hiring someone who's been convicted of a felony or released from prison within the past year, you can claim up to $2,400 per employee in the first year of employment.
That's real money. Hire three qualified second-chance employees, that's potentially $7,200 back. It won't solve your labor problems alone, but it offsets training investment and reduces your risk on new hires.
Some states stack additional credits on top. Louisiana had a program when I was running my restaurant. Texas has its own incentives through workforce development boards. If you're not checking with your accountant about these, you're probably leaving money on the table. (I had an operator in Lake Charles who'd hired four guys through a reentry program and didn't even know about WOTC until I mentioned it-he was able to file amended returns and recovered over $8,000.)
"But What About Liability?"
This is the question I get every single time. What if they steal? What if something happens? What if I get sued?
Fair questions. And the answer isn't "don't worry about it."
You still run background checks. You still make informed decisions. Someone with a history of financial crimes probably shouldn't be handling your cash drawer. Someone with violent offenses-you need to think carefully about that, and there's no shame in deciding it's not the right fit for your operation.
But a 15-year-old drug possession charge? A DUI from a decade ago? These aren't predictors of workplace performance or safety. The research on this is pretty clear: after about 4-7 years with no reoffense, a person with a criminal history is statistically no more likely to commit a crime than someone who was never convicted of anything.
The legal landscape is actually moving in your favor here. Many states now have "ban the box" laws that delay background check questions until later in the hiring process. Some jurisdictions provide liability protections for employers who hire through certified reentry programs. Check what applies in your state.
How It Actually Works in a Commercial Kitchen
I'm not going to pretend every second-chance hire works out. They don't. But neither do your other hires-that's why your turnover rate is what it is.
What I've found is that the ones who stick tend to become your most reliable people. I had a guy named Marcus who'd served three years for possession with intent. Started him on prep work, which is where I start everyone. Within eight months, he was running our overnight smoking schedule on the Southern Pride SP-700.
That's not a small thing. An SP-700 loaded with briskets represents a significant investment in product cost. You don't hand that responsibility to someone you don't trust. But Marcus understood that I'd taken a chance on him, and he wasn't going to let me down. He'd call me at 2 AM if something looked off with the temp readings-not because I told him to, but because he genuinely cared about doing the job right.
That's harder to train than technique.
Practical Steps for Operators Considering This
Don't just post on Indeed and hope. Connect with your local workforce development board-they have reentry specialists whose entire job is matching candidates to employers. These aren't random referrals. They've usually vetted people, know their backgrounds, and can tell you honestly whether someone's a fit for food service work.
Religious organizations and nonprofits focused on reintegration are another source. Salvation Army, Goodwill, various faith-based groups. They often provide support services that help their clients stay stable-transportation, housing assistance, counseling-which means your employee has a better chance of showing up consistently.
Start people where you'd start anyone else. Prep, dish, utility work. Let them prove themselves before promoting. This isn't about lowering your standards; it's about applying them fairly.
And be honest with your existing staff. I never made a big announcement, but I also didn't hide it. If someone asked, I'd say "yeah, he had some trouble before, but he's working hard and I trust him." That was usually enough. Your team takes cues from you.
The Business Case Is Stronger Than the Feel-Good Case
I'm not asking you to do this because it's the right thing to do-though it is. I'm asking you to consider it because the math works.
Higher retention means lower replacement costs. Tax credits offset risk. Access to a larger labor pool means you're not fighting with every other restaurant in town for the same handful of candidates who can pass a background check.
The chains crossing 1,000 locations? They're going to need people. So is the catering operation trying to scale up. So is the BBQ restaurant running a Southern Pride SP-500 that can't find someone reliable to work the overnight cook schedule.
I've watched this industry talk itself into circles about the labor crisis for years. Meanwhile, there's a solution that most operators won't even consider because of assumptions that don't hold up to scrutiny.
The guy running my prep kitchen-the one I mentioned at the start-he eventually moved to Houston and opened his own food truck. Small operation, but he's making it work. Every now and then he'll call me about equipment questions, usually something about temperature consistency or parts sourcing. Last time we talked, he told me he'd just hired his first employee.
Someone with a record, of course. Said he remembered what it felt like when nobody would give him a chance.
That's not just a nice story. That's the multiplier effect of one good business decision, playing out over a decade.
Resources: Southern Pride of Texas �|� Southern Pride rotisserie smokers �|� NBBQA
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Photo by Ali Alc�ntara on Pexels.
About the Author: Donna spent 18 years as a BBQ restaurant operator before becoming an independent equipment consultant for commercial food service operations.