Some New York City restaurants end no-tipping policy

NEW YORK - Restaurateur Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group is abandoning the no-tip trend experiment that it spearheaded in New York City.

Andrew Rigie, the executive director of the NYC Hospitality Alliance, told FOX 5 NY that this is yet another example of how restaurants are struggling to bounce back from the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.

"Over the past handful of years, there's been a handful of restaurants that have eliminated tipping only to bring it back because customers gawked at the much higher menu prices," Rigie said. "It was very challenging, operationally speaking." 

Forsythia on the Lower East Side only has four employees: Three chefs, who double as servers, and a dishwasher. Owner Jacob Siwak said the personal experience, and, of course, the tips that come with it are what'll keep the new Italian restaurant afloat.

"We do our best to put together a really thoughtful, really detailed level of service for them," Siwak said. "We found in response that people have been incredibly courteous with their tipping."

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Kristi Moccia, a Long Island waitress who just returned to work this week, said her unemployment checks weren't enough to pay the bills.

"Yes, we were approved for unemployment, but it's a lot lower than most people," she said. "It does not amount to what we're used to making weekly."

Restaurants across the region have been getting creative to make ends meet, from installing new outdoor seating options to expanding the delivery radius.

However, hospitality experts like Rigie noted that the future is still uncertain.

"In today's market, everyone needs to figure out how to adjust their businesses just to try to stand any chance of survival," Rigie said.

Meyer and Rigie are both staunch supporters of tip pooling, which is currently not allowed In New York. The policy would allow front-of-house workers to share their tips with kitchen staff.

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