US restaurateurs offering exercise as staff benefit

New York

MICHAEL Chernow, an exercise buff and owner of the seafood restaurant Seamore's, started a weekly workout class available to his 40-odd employees soon after the restaurant opened in 2015.

Every Wednesday at 9am, about 10 to 15 employees of Seamore's Fit Squad meet for either an indoor cycling class or for a four-mile (6.4 kilometres) run across the Williamsburg Bridge. Sometimes there are yoga or boot camp classes at the restaurant, where employees push aside tables and chairs to transform the dining room into a gym. "I care deeply about the people who work for me, and this club is my way to offer them an avenue to health," Mr Chernow said.