Gracias

um … hello?

If you have dinner plans at a restaurant tonight, expect the unexpected.

Latinos are the backbone of the kitchen industry: dishwashers, prep cooks, line cooks, bussers. They happily and successfully do the work that many native-born Americans refuse to do. Will they be there tonight to support your meal?

It’s important to understand that the vast majority of restaurants know how valuable their Latino workers are. None of the well-run restaurants are taking today lightly, most of them have been talking about May 1 for months.

It’s a tough spot. You want to respect your workers and their beliefs, but you also have a business to run. Most of the places I’ve talked to have a plan. They’ve given the day off to as many Latinos as they can, and they’ve asked the rest of the staff to step up and help. That’s not to say that you won’t still see some Latinos at work, I personally know a few who don’t agree with the protests and feel that they’d rather support the business they’ve helped make successful.

But if you are one of those people who feels cheated when you know the chef isn’t actually cooking your food, check the line, tonight may be your night.