LEXINGTON, Ky. (FOX 56) – A Lexington barbecue restaurant is not only actively hiring, but it’s reached out and offered jobs to employees who just lost their jobs in the food industry.

Tommy Walters, who is a part business owner with his daughters Emilee and Haylee, said he’s willing to pay more than others to get good employees.

In the past two weeks, Parkette Drive-in, World of Beer, and Pour Decisions all closed the doors on their businesses.

Proud Mary BBQ immediately saw an opportunity to offer those fresh out of work a job at their spot on social media, and left comments extending the offer on their closing announcement posts.

Proud Mary BBQ has been open since April of 2015, serving what it called ‘Honky Tonk’ barbecue. It offers live music five nights a week, and an outdoor patio down on the river.

Walters said staffing has been a struggle since the pandemic and he needs more helping hands to keep the place running.

He has openings for bartenders, servers, bar-backs, cooks, dishwashers and food runners.

He and his daughters are being proactive on social media with recruiting others with restaurant experience.

His pitch is that those who lost their jobs don’t have to miss a beat or a paycheck.

“Well, we guarantee we will pay you better than anybody in Fayette County. Even the cooks in the kitchen start out twenty dollars an hour, and they can work 50-55 hours a week, plus, we give bonus’ every week. And if they work for ninety days, and never miss a day, they get a thousand-dollar bonus,” Walters said.

Walters said the reason they’re offering bonus incentives and higher wages is that they want to pay people what they would want to be paid if they were working for someone else.

Just last week, he said they paid out a thousand dollars in kitchen bonuses.

To apply for Proud Mary Bbq, call 859-913-5611 or click here: Proud Mary Honky Tonk BBQ (proudmarybbq.com)