Top Executives of Daily Grill Restaurant Chain Takes 10% Pay Cut

October 30, 2008

San Fernando Valley, CA - A dozen top executives of the Daily Grill chain of restaurants will take a 10% pay cut to aid in balancing the effects of the ailing company announced by the parent company last Wednesday.

According to Philip Gay, president and chief executive of Grill Concepts Inc. based in Woodland Hills, the 10% pay cut is effective immediately and will have an effect on those executive who has annual salaries that range from $100,000 to $350,000. Four of the executives that will be affected are members of the board of directors of the company.

There are 32 restaurants nationwide owned by the company that employs around 2,500 people including 1,300 in California.

"We have 2,500 mouths to feed, and it's important they understand we executives running the company stand behind them. We're putting the money where our mouth is," Gay said.

Gay also added that the move is a part of an effort of a companywide cost-saving. There are at least eight people which have been laid off this year from the office of the company located in Woodland Hills.

According to a report by the company, it has been losing money in the first half of 2008. "It just felt like it was a good time to do it. We had just gone through a month of total financial meltdown," Gay added.

According to Dennis Lombardi, executive vice president of food service strategies at WD Partners, a Columbus, Ohio-based design and development firm for retail and restaurant businesses, executive pay cuts are rare in the restaurant business, especially in publicly traded companies.

Lombardi also said that this cut has two advantages: as opposed to layoffs, a voluntary cut like that immediately affects cash flow and it will show solidarity in support of the company.