Some Bay Area Restaurants To Begin Adding Flat 20 Percent Surcharge Instead Of Tips
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- A handful of Bay Area restaurants will begin adding a service charge to the price of meals in lieu of tips, according to a published report.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported that five restaurants - Comal in Berkeley, Camino and Duende in Oakland, and Bar Agricole and Trou Normand in San Francisco – will begin adding a 20% service charge to all customer bills and not accept any other gratuity.
The 20 percent surcharge would go toward staff for merit-based hourly wages and revenue-sharing, according to the Chronicle, including for staffers such as cooks and dishwashers that do not normally share tips.
The changes come as Bay Area cities boost their minimum wage levels above the California minimum wage of $9 an hour.
San Francisco's Proposition J on the November ballot would boost San Francisco's $10.74/hour minimum wage to $15 by July 2018. An Oakland ballot measure would increase that city's minimum wage from $8 an hour to $12.25, along with inflation-based increases in the future.