the Pineapple project

Americans have a gift for deluding themselves into thinking that everyone is given a fair shake. The conservative pundits who want to scale back federal stimulus during the pandemic, for example, are convinced that we should all pull ourselves up by our bootstraps. Unfortunately, not everyone’s boots have straps. Some people are barefoot.

Today, federal law dictates that restaurants pay servers no less than the "tipped minimum wage" of $2.13 an hour, though some states have set a higher minimum. The idea is that tips can make up the difference from the standard minimum wage for other types of work. But critics say that can lead to discrimination—many studies have shown that people of color are systematically tipped less than white coworkers, and the need to make good tips can pressure female servers to tolerate inappropriate behavior.

“There are options available to restaurateurs. Taking a credit card in advance is the most common and effective option against losing money because of no-shows.”

"Chefs work as hard as servers who work as hard as bartenders who work as hard as barbacks who work as hard as dishwashers," he says. "That doesn't mean we flatten everyone's rate. It just means an adjustment is due.” It also means, he says, that service charges may need to be incorporated into checks, putting an end to tipping.

As restaurant owners, or operators thoughts and experiences are you willing to share?

One Long Table

Hospitality means primarily the creation of free space where the stranger can enter and become a friend instead of an enemy.

“A restaurant kitchen isn’t an artist’s studio; it’s a factory. As a guest, you have a responsibility to understand that not every element of your dining experience is customizable. When you dine in a restaurant, you are enjoying plates or food that were engineered to be efficiently served simultaneously to a dining room full of hungry people. Expecting your initials monogrammed on every dish shows a lack of respect for the orderliness that is necessary for a cohesively functioning kitchen.”

During the period NYC raised the minimum wage from $7.25 in 2013 to $15 in 2019, the city's restaurant industry outperformed the rest of the country in job growth and expansion, according to a new study.