Restaurants adding service charges to address employee wage gap
Courtesy of Carmine’s on Penn)
Denver restaurants have been grappling with the wage gap between front-of-the-house and back-of-the-house employees for years.
Increasing competition and the rising state and city minimum wage have made it difficult to even out pay between wait staff and those in the kitchen who don’t get tipped, according to those in the industry.
Now, with the pandemic putting local restaurants in a state of almost constant uncertainty, multiple prominent restaurateurs have decided it’s the logical time to debut what they see as a solution the service charge.
Plus, new survey data on tipped worker wages and consumer habits
Each week, Restaurant Hospitality gathers the news for independent restaurant operators you may have missed. Here’s your list for the week of March 1:
Massachusetts announces restaurants can open to 100% capacity
On Feb. 25, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker announced that as of March 1 restaurants will be allowed to operate at 100% capacity as the state enters Phase 3, Step 2 of it’s reopening plan. Restaurants in the state have been at 40% capacity since Feb. 8.
Other restrictions remain in place, including mandatory mask-wearing when not eating, spacing tables a social distance of six feet apart, capping service at 90 minutes per seating, and limiting tables to parties of six or fewer.
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After one of the hardest years on record for restaurants, Danny Meyer, founder and CEO of the Union Square Hospitality Group, is hopeful. Warmer weather is coming, vaccinations are up, and the House just passed a Covid relief stimulus bill that includes $25 billion in grants not loans to restaurants and bars, which he views as a step toward making these businesses whole again.
Even so, Meyer said the past year has been a period of deep reflection for him as he watched the industry and his own establishments go through periods of zero revenue, massive layoffs, and a shaking up of long-held practices.
NYC Restaurants Weigh Implications of Mandatory Vaccine Policies eater.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from eater.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Full-service restaurants are bearing the brunt of the pandemic because the business model is not one that makes guests feel comfortable, Union Square .