One of New York’s Most Influential Restaurateurs Just Ditched Tipping

<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?country_code=US&page_number=1&position=0&safesearch=1&search_language=en&search_source=search_form&search_type=keyword_search&searchterm=tipping%20restaurants&sort_method=popular&source=search&timestamp=1444854571&tracking_id=o_ogjxOvDhD9_xqDARw9Rw&use_local_boost=1&version=llv1&page=1&inline=267083669">MediaGroup_BestForYou</a>/Shutterstock

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.


Danny Meyer, the man behind Shake Shack and a string of acclaimed restaurants in New York City and around the country, announced Wednesday that his restaurant group will be putting an end to tipping at all 13 of Union Square Hospitality’s full-service properties.

The move makes Meyer the most high-profile restaurateur to jump on the progressive policy, whose supporters argue that the tipping system doesn’t actually incentivize work and in fact leads to unequal pay.

In a letter posted on the company’s website, Meyer said that while he believes hospitality is “a team sport,” workers like cooks, reservationists, and dishwashers “aren’t able to share in our guests’ generosity, even though their contributions are just as vital” to a customer’s experience.

To compensate for higher wages, Meyer said his restaurants will be raising menu prices significantly.

The shift will begin in November at The Modern, located in New York’s Museum of Modern Art, and gradually roll out to the rest of the group’s restaurants. Shake Shack, however, will not be included in the changes.

AN IMPORTANT UPDATE

We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals and we can’t sustain coming up short on donations month after month. Perhaps you’ve heard? It is impossibly hard in the news business right now, with layoffs intensifying and fancy new startups and funding going kaput.

The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and joined forces with the Center for Investigative Reporting, a team of ace journalists who create the amazing podcast and public radio show Reveal.

If you can part with even just a few bucks, please help us pick up the pace of donations. We simply can’t afford to keep falling behind on our fundraising targets month after month.

Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery said it well to our team recently, and that team 100 percent includes readers like you who make it all possible: “This is a year to prove that we can pull off this merger, grow our audiences and impact, attract more funding and keep growing. More broadly, it’s a year when the very future of both journalism and democracy is on the line. We have to go for every important story, every reader/listener/viewer, and leave it all on the field. I’m very proud of all the hard work that’s gotten us to this moment, and confident that we can meet it.”

Let’s do this. If you can right now, please support Mother Jones and investigative journalism with an urgently needed donation today.

payment methods

AN IMPORTANT UPDATE

We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals and we can’t sustain coming up short on donations month after month. Perhaps you’ve heard? It is impossibly hard in the news business right now, with layoffs intensifying and fancy new startups and funding going kaput.

The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and joined forces with the Center for Investigative Reporting, a team of ace journalists who create the amazing podcast and public radio show Reveal.

If you can part with even just a few bucks, please help us pick up the pace of donations. We simply can’t afford to keep falling behind on our fundraising targets month after month.

Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery said it well to our team recently, and that team 100 percent includes readers like you who make it all possible: “This is a year to prove that we can pull off this merger, grow our audiences and impact, attract more funding and keep growing. More broadly, it’s a year when the very future of both journalism and democracy is on the line. We have to go for every important story, every reader/listener/viewer, and leave it all on the field. I’m very proud of all the hard work that’s gotten us to this moment, and confident that we can meet it.”

Let’s do this. If you can right now, please support Mother Jones and investigative journalism with an urgently needed donation today.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate