California now requires that fast-food workers make at least $20 an hour. But as the Wall Street Journal reports, a less-publicized part of the same law requires that fast-food managers make at least $83,200. That’s the background for the newspaper’s day-in-the-life feature about a general manager at a Raising Cane’s chicken restaurant near Los Angeles who makes an impressive $174,000 annually with bonuses included. “It’s been life-changing for my family,” says 27-year-old Monique Pizano. Her base salary is $85,000, and she makes the rest in performance bonuses at the busy store with nearly 100 employees. “Busy” translates to $9 million in annual sales, more than your typical McDonald’s.
Raising Cane’s, based in Baton Rouge, pays its 850 general managers well because it sees them as “critical partners” in the chain’s success, per the Journal. Chipotle Mexican Grill and Shake Shack also pay six figures to top store managers, notes the newspaper, while others offer stock as compensation. As for Pizano, she gets to her store before 6am and leaves about 4pm, and the story takes you through the particulars of her day in charge. The feature is similar to a previous one about a Walmart superstore manager who pulls in an even more impressive $240,000 per year. Read the Cane’s story in full. (More fast food stories.)
