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Restaurateurs may not agree on who makes the best steak frites or grilled octopus in the Bay Area, but they do see eye-to-eye on an industry-wide problem: the wage disparity, in which a typical server often makes double or triple as much money as a professional cook.
In April, a new federal law made it legal for restaurateurs to share servers’ tips with kitchen staff — as opposed to only front-of-house employees — and that certainly helps. But Bay Area restaurants are still looking for other ways to address the disparity. Some are eliminating tipping in favor of a service charge or raising prices overall.
At Walnut Creek’s lively Main Street Kitchen & Bar, owners Lauren and Arash Ghasemi introduced their no-tip policy after a July remodel, in which they reopened to the public with a new gray interior, open kitchen, double the seating — and a 20 percent service charge on every bill.
“Our customers like it, we reduce tension between the front and back of the house and create a fair, livable wage for all of our employees,” says Lauren, who opened the farm-to-table restaurant with her husband and executive chef, Arash, in 2015. “We also eliminate the worry. You shouldn’t have to wonder if you’re going to be able to pay your bills if your section wasn’t busy or your guest didn’t leave a good tip.”
In Oakland, Berkeley and San Francisco, restaurateurs adopted new models to address the minimum wage increase that voters in those cities approved back in 2015. Comal, the upscale Mexican restaurant north of downtown Berkeley, implemented its 20 percent service charge in 2014, about a year ahead of the minimum wage increase.
“Our staff is happy and we have fewer martyrs and more team players as a result,” says owner Andrew Hoffman. “We get a few complaints a year from guests who feel philosophically that they should have a say in the wage of our employees but we deal with those on a case by case basis.”
At Homestead, a casually elegant neighborhood restaurant in North Oakland, owner Fred Sassen decided “to be as transparent as possible” about meeting the wage increase. Instead of adding a service charge, he simply raised his prices 20 percent, and said so right on the menu.
“It’s been working brilliantly and I would not go back to any other way,” Sassen says. “What we found is that if we included the tip in the price, we could then dictate how to pay everybody equitably and cut out the inconsistency, which is at the whim of the guest. Otherwise, the pastry cook with a degree in culinary arts and 10 years experience will never make as much as the artist waiting tables.”
They’ve always had a service charge model at Orchestria Palm Court Restaurant, an upscale American restaurant that caters to theatergoers in downtown San Jose. Owner Mark Williams opened the restaurant five years ago after living in Europe, where virtually everyone does it this way, he says.
“‘Just give me the bill and I’ll pay it’ is the idea,” Williams says. Initially, Williams showed the new pricing right on the menu, but too many customers complained. So he changed it to one simple line: “No tipping please. Service added at register.”
And what’s a restaurateur to do when customers, including regulars, leave little or no gratuity? At Oyama Sushi in Walnut Creek, where a back-lit wooden bar holds cold cases of fresh salmon, ahi tuna and octopus, owner Kit So has lost 10 servers to bad tipping even after raising their wages.
“It’s very strange,” says So, who was the restaurant’s manager for four years before taking over in May. “I was a sushi server for over seven years in Lafayette and my income then was very good. Even weeknights, I’d make $80 a night in tips.”
One reason tipping is down, So says, is the increase in orders via delivery apps like Door Dash and Grub Hub. “Some customers use the app to order and still come pick it up, so they don’t have to pay any fees,” she says.
Taking a cue from DoorDash, which doesn’t let you check out without selecting a tip percentage, So now presents a laminated note to patrons with their menu that explains how they’re helping staff offset the increasing cost of living by adding a 15 percent charge to the bill for parties of one to four, and 18 percent for larger parties. The amount, it says, will be divided among servers, chefs and kitchen staff. It started in November, and the response has been good so far.
“Nobody is really against it,” she says. “Only two regulars, who used to come in all the time and put down 10 percent, recently saw it and decided to leave.”
