JEFFERSON, Iowa — Iowa's Minimum Wage is $7.25 an hour and has been at that level since 2008, but businesses are always free to go above that when paying their employees.
One business in Jefferson did just that, and they're making waves as a result.
That shop is Greene Bean Coffee. The store opened eight years ago and recently gained notoriety after announcing that all employees, both current and new hires, would be paid $15 an hour.
Rich Osborne, co-owner of the store, thought it was past time to make the change.
"It's been 12 years since we set the minimum wag," Osborne said. "So just the inflation from now until then, you know, puts us at over $9 an hour. And so anyone paying less than that, it's really taking advantage of people."
The pay hike resulted in a surge of job applications— over 50 for the latest posting.
"I want to say that's more than I think I've ever seen total, in the last eight years here," Osborne said.
The bump in pay is already making a difference for employees.
"I'm going to college in the fall. It's nice to have that little boost in my paycheck to help me pay for it and anything else that I might need later in life," said Hannah Acton, an employee of the store.
Anyone worried about the price of their morning coffee going through the roof can rest easy; price adjustments to the menu were minimal, with most only going up by a quarter.
"I looked at the math. And I said, well, the number of drinks times a quarter, you know, that's this much more per day," Osborne said. "And then the wages on top of that, it was a flush deal."
The wage increase hasn't led to a decrease in the number of customers. If anything, the positive attention has actually helped, as the store has seen a surge in online orders since the announcement.
Watch: Fight for minimum wage continues into Biden administration