In two years working at Bear’s Smokehouse, cashier Amanda Farmer has seen her hourly wage rise by $2 to $11.15. Now, the hourly wage earned by the East Hartford mother of two — and most of her co-workers — are just days away from getting the biggest bump up yet.

The owners of the fast-growing Bear’s Smokehouse are raising the minimum wage for the majority of their employees to $15 an hour as of Jan. 1, making a powerful statement as the debate over increasing the minimum wage in Connecticut to that level heats up.Jamie McDonald, who with his wife, Cheryl, founded Bear’s as a takeout counter in Windsor in 2013, said the move makes clear business sense.  Read more here.