Chapel Hill’s Pazzo Restaurant levied with child labor fine for 'Little Chef'

Ben Braxton has become one of the most famous cooks in Chapel Hill, and he is only 15 years old.

Braxton, nicknamed “Little Chef,” works as a garde manger at Pazzo Restaurant — and his age made him a subject of controversy.

Seth Kingsbury, owner of Pazzo, hired Braxton when he was 13 and got an exception from the N.C. Department of Labor to employ him — but a photo of the teen handling alcohol cost him a $7,975 fine for violating child labor laws.

According to the N.C. Department of Labor, children under 16 years of age are not allowed to work on the premises of any establishment that sells alcohol. Additionally, 14- and 15-year-olds can be employed in food preparation but are not allowed to bake or cook over an open flame.

When Braxton expressed interest in working at the restaurant to learn about cooking, Kingsbury hired him on the condition that he improve in school. He soon realized that Braxton was not old enough for him to legally employ.

Kingsbury and Braxton’s mother petitioned the N.C. Department of Labor for a waiver allowing Braxton to continue working at the restaurant. They got permission, as long as he did not work over an open flame or handle alcohol.

State officials have since permitted Braxton to continue working at Pazzo because of the benefits the job has brought him.

“We’ve seen him grow tremendously,” Kingsbury said. “He’s on the honor roll now, and he’s become more personable and extroverted. He wants to be a chef.”

Youth employment issues have become increasingly rare in North Carolina —the N.C. Department of Labor received no reported violations in Orange County from 2006 and 2010, said Dolores Quesenberry, spokeswoman for the N.C. Department of Labor.

And Chapel Hill restaurants have their own reasons for not wanting to break that trend.

“We rarely hire anyone under 18,” said Drew Hansel, floor manager of 411 West. “They’re really too young and therefore don’t have much experience.”

But Gavin Toth, floor manager at Spanky’s Restaurant, said though he doesn’t hire people under 16 because it is against the law, he thinks they would be able gain more experience if he could.

“I first started working at a restaurant when I was 15,” he said. “It teaches you that you have to work for your money.”

Chris Howell, a clinical instructor at the UNC School of Social Work, said child labor laws evolved in early industrial America, when children were employed in unsafe conditions.

“I don’t think we’re in a situation where that happens much anymore, but kids may be exploited and taken advantage of in different ways,” she said.

And Kingsbury said that while he appreciates that the laws are in place to protect children, sometimes they merit exception.

“Everyone I’ve spoken to thinks we’ve done a great thing,” Kingsbury said. “We didn’t realize we’d get into so much trouble.”

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