TIPPED OFF!
Customers and servers have been stiffed. New York restaurants have tried — and failed — to get rid of tips
A FTER surging like the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI’s first 38 minutes, the no-tipping-at-restaurants craze has run out of gas.
In late 2015, when Danny Meyer announced that he would eliminate tipping across his restaurant empire — which includes Gramercy Tavern, Maialino and North End Grill — it seemed we were at the start of a revolution. Meyer was leading the way, and a num- ber of high-profile restaurateurs including Brooklyn kingpin Andrew Tarlow and the Eleven Madison Park team jumped on board, while places such as Dirt Candy and Per Se were already operating based on the same model.
The “hospitality-included” revolution would benefit customers and restaurant workers alike. Diners would know how much to pay without doing math in dim lighting at the end of a boozy meal, and theoretically enjoy better service from staff member who regard themselves as professionals and who shouldn’t have to grovel for tips or push pricey menu options. Both servers and kitchen staff would enjoy more consistent, fairly distributed wages.
Now, less than 18 months in, the movement has stalled. A number of restaurants that tried to go hospitality-included, including Tom Colicchio’s Craft, David Chang’s Momofuku Nishi, Japanese chain Ootoya, Italian staple I Trulli and West Village hot spot Fedora, have gone back to tipping. Meyer remains on board, but even his team admits it’s been more complicated than expected.
“It’s a big lift, like opening a restaurant all over again,” says Sabato Sagaria, the chief