Beginning the Conversation About Food and Those Who Make It...

For the most part, I am looking at you, chefs, cooks, caterers, servers, managers, owners, hosts, bussers, etc.  There are some big changes on the horizon for the food industry.  Are we ready?  Do you see what I see?  Several things are in the works that will very tangibly effect the bottom line of your paycheck.

An Increase in Minimum Wage...

For a lot of states there is an increase in the minimum wage on the ballot and for some, it is already there and active.  Food service makes up about 10% of the work force in this country and you're fooling yourself if you choose to believe that this is not something that effects each and every single one of us, tipped or not.

The standard prediction is that there will be a domino effect, first off.  One state adopts a higher minimum wage, then others will begin the lobby for their own increase.  Some states do not even have a minimum wage or they have a stratified minimum wage where it is assumed that tipped workers, based on reported earnings, make minimum wage or more.

Some restaurant owners make the argument that this will lead to the need to increase prices and decrease hours to meet the bottom line.  They claim that their business will suffer.  This increase, combined with the effects of the Affordable Care Act leads to a very compelling argument that makes it more difficult to open a business.

The Subtle Push to End Tipping...

There seems to be a growing swell to end the practice of tipping and have owners pay a wage that makes up the difference.  There are many countries where tipping is simply not done and a few where it is considered an insult.  The United States is poised to follow suit as many embrace the notion that it is an antiquated practice.

If tipping goes away, there is another domino effect throughout the industry.  The entire of structure of the restaurant system is built on the idea of ready money.  Without tipping servers have little or less of an incentive for their job.  The cascade of bussers, hosts, and bar tenders who then are not tipped out at the end of the night.

Small things lead to big things and there are a lot of things that are going on in the business.  Why are we not discussing them?  There are some things that we need to talk about.

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