Executive Director Kara Hanaoka and Adam Orman, co-owner of L’Oca d’Oro<\/a> and Bambino,<\/a> recently joined Trevor Scott to share how the organization is investing in Austin’s hospitality community.<\/p>\n Executive Director Kara Hanaoka and Adam Orman, co-owner of L’Oca d’Oro and Bambino, recently joined Trevor Scott to share how the organization is investing in Austin’s hospitality community.<\/p>\n Building Better Careers in Hospitality<\/p>\n Founded in 2018, Good Work Austin works to improve conditions for food and beverage workers by advocating for living wages, healthcare access and other employee benefits.<\/p>\n \u201cWe exist to support food and beverage workers here in Austin with access to things like living wages, health care,\u201d Hanaoka said. \u201cWe really want them to have healthy careers.\u201d<\/p>\n Orman, one of the organization’s co-founders, said the nonprofit grew out of conversations among local restaurant owners who wanted to create a more sustainable industry.<\/p>\n \u201cTexas is a state where it’s okay to pay $2.13 and have servers rely on tips for the bulk of their wages,\u201d Orman said. \u201cHealth care, child care, these are not things that are traditionally a part of our industry.\u201d<\/p>\n Good Work Austin invests in the people powering Austin’s food scene<\/p>\n Feeding the Community<\/p>\n One of Good Work Austin’s signature initiatives is its Community Kitchen, which launched during the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n The program partnered with local restaurants to prepare meals for food-insecure Austinites while also helping restaurants keep their businesses operating.<\/p>\n During Winter Storm Uri in 2021, the Community Kitchen provided nearly 200,000 meals in just a few weeks.<\/p>\n Today, the program continues by partnering with about 15 local restaurants to prepare three meals a day for transitional shelters throughout Austin.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s a great way for the restaurants to put money in their pockets while making sure the shelters are getting nutritious meals made by locally owned businesses,\u201d Orman said.<\/p>\n A Different Approach to Dining<\/p>\n Orman also highlighted L’Oca d’Oro’s<\/a> ongoing Pay What You Will nights, which are expanding throughout August.<\/p>\n Instead of raising menu prices as food costs fluctuate, guests are invited to decide what they’d like to pay for their meal.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s the same menu, same service,\u201d Orman said. \u201cYou come in, and you get to choose what you’re going to pay for your food.\u201d<\/p>\n The restaurant’s employees already earn guaranteed wages, allowing the program to focus on accessibility and community rather than tipping.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want people to be able to try new foods, enjoy a night out, and enjoy being part of the community,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Pay What You Will nights will take place Tuesday through Thursday evenings throughout August.<\/p>\n Good Work Austin invests in the people powering Austin’s food scene<\/p>\n Celebrating Hospitality Leaders<\/p>\n![\"{p}Executive](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/dbea12cf-ad9e-4291-b706-f99c4a01c39a-IMG_4637.JPG\")
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