SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. (NEWS10) – If you have ever worked a job while in school, you know how hard it can be to balance work and education. That’s why Hattie’s Restaurant in Saratoga Springs is allowing its employees to come to work right from school, clock in an hour before their shift, and work on their homework—all while getting fed and paid.

“My wife Elizabeth came up with an idea to try and support them in a way that makes it beneficial for them and for us,” said owner and chef Jasper Alexander. “It eases the concern of the parents trying to run kids around because we do that as well. It can be difficult at times especially if you’re working in an office setting or something. So it was a fantastic idea and easy to implement, so it just made sense.” 

Beth Alexander said it boils down to showing the employees how much they appreciate them. “They are the backbone of our restaurant,” she said. “I am investing in them and I want to show them that we care about them and we care about their future and we are here to support them and help them in any way we can.”

For the student workers, they said it is a big relief, “because some of us have to come straight from school.” That’s according to Carla Vegas. “Come home and then get ready for work only to come back to work and there’s really no room to do a homework assignment to do the next day,” she said.

“It’s just nice to be able to know that if I’m coming from school I don’t have to do a quick turnaround,” explained Will Macini. “I can just come down here if I need to and I can just work on homework.

The Alexanders say “Miss Hattie’s Homework Hour” has only been around for a short period of time, but they can see it sticking for the long run.