A year and a half ago, Woods began working for Alta in what’s known in the industry as the "back of the house." There, he said, is where all the grunt work is done -- for Woods it was washing dishes.

One day the owner approached Woods and asked him if he would like to try working in the "front of the house." Woods had been in restaurants long enough to know that a position out with customers would earn him a lot more money.

A Difference in Pay that Adds Up

Woods went through a training program that Alta set up to help those in the back of the house move to the front of the house. By May, management decided to give him a position out front. He began waiting tables and tending bar, interacting with customers for the first time. It wasn’t a totally smooth transition for Woods.

“Well, when I first started working here it was very uncomfortable,” Woods said, “I am urban African-American. I am dealing with a lot of Caucasian people with money, people who I have never been exposed to. So initially it was hard communicating with them.”

Woods said communication has gotten better with time. He said he has learned to chat with the customers about things like sports and retirement.

He is making almost double what he did while tucked away in the kitchen. “I come here and I get an $11 pay increase from $14 an hour to $25 an hour,” Woods said, “So yes, front of the house does have its benefits.”

On average, Jayaraman said ROC found the race-wage gap to be $5.50 an hour between white and minority workers. That difference adds up. Over the course of a year working full-time, an employee of color in a restaurant would make on average $11,000 less than a white worker.

Inequality in the Progressive Bay Area

Jayaraman said it is sad to see the restaurant race-wage gap so high in the Bay Area, a place that is hailed as a center for progressive thought and ideals. She said that, like income inequality and housing affordability, the restaurant race-wage gap is one more example of the gulf between those in the Bay Area with privilege and those without. Jayaraman said the situation is especially disappointing because the restaurant industry in the Bay Area has the potential to generate many career jobs for minorities.

Jayaraman said the restaurant industry “is now the nation’s second-largest and absolute fastest-growing private employer sector. There are 12 million workers in this industry. One in 11 Americans works in this industry. One in 10 Californians.” There is plenty of opportunity. The problem is, according to Jayaraman, most well-paying fine dining positions are held by white men.

At a panel on this issue held at Alta restaurant, Jayaraman said the paradigm in the restaurant industry is a result of all kinds of biases: restaurant owners are conditioned to think white men are better waiters; customers are biased against minority wait staff; and minorities don’t even apply for the jobs because they don’t see anyone like them working out front or even eating in these establishments.

An Unexpected Chance

Cory Woods said he could not have imagined transitioning from washing dishes to working with customers. He said he was shocked when his white boss trusted him enough to put him out in the front of the house.

'I'm proud to say this day that I am considered a success story.' Cory Woods, server at Alta

Woods is originally from Missouri. He said now every time his mom flies out to visit him and sees where he’s at, she cries. “I'm proud to say this day that I am considered a success story,” Woods said. “I have two vehicles, I am getting ready to purchase a home. I never thought I'd be the owner of a life insurance policy.”

Woods said getting a chance like this is rare. Many restaurants have notoriously small margins and it takes money to set up training programs and develop workers.