Like many other restaurants in Chicago and around the country, Hopewell has doubled as a space for activism in recent months. Hopewell’s owners made public their commitment to advocacy when, in December, they chose to participate in the nationwide sanctuary restaurant movement.
As of yesterday, the sanctuary restaurant movement has officially launched. February 13 was chosen in honor of the federal minimum wage for tipped workers, which is $2.13 per hour, said Sheila Maddali, co-director of the Tipped Worker Resource Center at Restaurant Opportunities Centers (ROC) United. So far, over 250 restaurants have signed on nationally and Maddali anticipates that more will join them in the weeks to come.