Toronto restaurant says it will no longer accept tips

Sidecar restaurant on College Street. Image: Ginella Massa/CITYNEWS

Struggling with math will no longer be part of the equation at a Little Italy restaurant that’s poised to remove tipping.As of Sunday, gratuities will be a thing of the past for diners who frequent Sidecar rest aurant at 577 College Street.

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“Not only are people not supposed to tip, it’s not accepted at all,” owner Bill Sweet told CityNews. “We will build the cost into the pricing,” he added, saying menu items will be hiked by 10-20 per cent.

So what about his employees?
Kitchen staff will receive a $1 per hour raise across the board. But it’s not yet clear if servers will benefit, or see their wages pared down when the change comes into effect. With tips, Sweet says the current industry average for a server comes to about $27 per hour. His servers will receive a flat rate in the range of $18 to $20 an hour.

On the bright side, Sweet says pay will be consistent even when business is slow, and an employee working on a Tuesday night will make the same as one working a prime Saturday night shift.
His waiters and waitresses have mixed feelings about the change, and Sweet admits that some have already quit as a result.

“Some people like it, they like the consistency of regular pay, they feel protected and feel that it’s dependable,” he stressed. “But some servers do not like it.”

Information about the new policy will be displayed on tent cards on tables, and Sweet is launching a new website touting his restaurant’s unique model. Sweet says the current dining model is geared towards short-term employment and doesn’t provide the predictability and security that many seek in a career.

“My main motivation is to create a better business model when the existing one is broken.”

Source City News