What to Know
- NYC restaurant owners are asking lawmakers to allow them to add a surcharge to bills to help cover the cost of higher wages
- However, other owners say customers are more willing to pay a few extra dollars on menu prices rather than a surcharge
- A spokesperson for Mayor de Blasio said they're 'aware of the proposal and haven’t taken a position on the measure'
As if dining out in the Big Apple isn’t expensive enough.
Now some restaurants owners want to charge customers even more by pushing lawmakers to allow them to add a surcharge to a bill. The reason? Higher wages.
More than 100 New York City restaurant owners say recent increases in minimum wage have the restaurants eating the cost.
“We need help, and Mayor de Blasio is the only guy who can do it with the City Council,” Jon Bloostein, owner of Heartland Brewery, said. “I just want enough to help cover a piece of the wage increase.”
The New York City Hospitality Alliance is backing the proposal and says the surcharge would be completely optional and small.
“It’s only here in New York City, the most competitive restaurant market probably in the whole entire world, that restaurants aren’t allowed to add a clearly disclosed administrative fee,” Andrew Rigie, executive director of the NYC Hospitality Alliance, said. “It makes no sense.”
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However, there are restaurant owners in NYC that are on the other side of the argument, saying customers would be more willing to accept a small raise in menu prices.
“Surcharge, though, really turns a lot of people off,” Jacob Rotondo, who owns a small restaurant in Hell’s Kitchen, said. “Normally you just raise your prices by a couple of dollars and call it a day.”
The NYC Hospitality Alliance says studies show customers will not continue going to restaurants if they see an increase in food prices.
“We recognize that hospitality is a vital industry in New York City,” a spokesperson for de Blasio said in a statement. “We’re aware of the proposal and haven’t taken a position on the measure.”
