Pizzeria owner gives full sales of ‘Employee Appreciation Day’ to staff

• Owner of an Ohio pizzeria Josh Elchert held his Employee Appreciation Day by giving his employees 100% of sales on that day.
• He encouraged the community to help him show his gratitude to his employees.
• In total, Josh was able to make $6,300 sales, with $1,200 tips, and did just what he promised!

Josh Elchert, owner of Heavenly Pizza in Findlay, Ohio, held his Employee Appreciation Day on July 5, but it wasn’t just a simple appreciation day. Josh encouraged the community to help him show his gratitude to his staff.

The owner gave the entire day sales to all the employees who worked on that day, which amounted to $6,300 sales and $1,200 tips!

In a Facebook post, Josh revealed that the total amount was divided amongst the staff and the hours they worked, giving each employee $78 per hour.

“Well, you guys are awesome!!!! Thanks to all of you, our employees had a huge day!!!” he wrote in the post. “Better than I had hoped!!!!”

Josh first revealed his Employee Appreciation Day plans in a Facebook video shared on the pizzeria’s Facebook page on June 22.

“Our employees have been so great during COVID, during the pandemic, during this season of uncertainty,” he explained. “They’ve just been fantastic. They show up every day, they’re here in a good mood… we want to take a day and appreciate them.”

He added that “Heavenly Pizza is not taking in any of the money. It’s all going to my employees. 100% of the sales are going to my employees.”

On the day of the event, Josh reminded his followers about his plan and asked the community for help.

“We’ve all seen the ‘Help wanted’ signs everywhere and we’re not exempt of that. We’ve definitely been short-staffed, but we’ve always had the employees to operate at a sustainable level,” he continued, before reiterating, “Every cent, all the tips, all the orders, anything that comes in today is going directly to the employees that work today.”

According to the owner, his employees worked very hard over the past year, despite the challenges imposed by the pandemic. He was also amazed by the loyalty they’ve shown throughout the years.

Josh’s gratefulness to his staff was likely felt by the community who quickly jumped on board. A man even dropped by over the weekend to donate $100 as he wasn’t going to be in town on the appreciation day.

“I’ve never experienced anything like this before. It’s a big gift,” said Timmy Lemire, who has worked at Heavenly Pizza for five years and is now the assistant manager. “That kind of giving nature is why this place runs so well, works so well.”

Timmy also praised Josh’s leadership, who has been running the business for 11 years.

“It’s a family,” Timmy said. “Find a place where you feel purpose and you won’t feel like you’re meaningless — you’ll feel right where you’re supposed to be.”

Source: PEOPLE.com