Service Charges Disclosed

We add an automatic 20% service charge in lieu of an optional gratuity or tip to all checks, and we charge a credit card surcharge for checks settled with a credit card. Cash payments have no fees applied, and we do have an ATM machine.

We understand why any service charge can be confusing or frustrating. As it relates to the 20% automatic service charge in lieu of an optional gratuity, it’s important to also disclose that the state-mandated minimum wage increase in Florida for tipped employees (bartenders and servers) has risen from $5.50 per hour to $12 per hour as of September 2026. Bartenders and servers are hardworking individuals who deserve to earn a great living; however, they were previously making an incredibly high income from tips beyond their $5.50 hourly wage prior to the state-mandated wage increases implemented via a ballot referendum by Florida voters.

This mandated minimum wage increase, while rightly intended to assist deserving hourly employees such as cooks, dishwashers, and other culinary professionals, has had unintended consequences by also increasing the minimum wage for tipped positions. Tip credit positions in Florida are tied to the hourly minimum wage; the hourly minimum wage is $15, and the tipped minimum wage is $11.98.

Florida law allows restaurants to charge an automatic service charge in place of an optional gratuity if disclosed properly according to Florida Senate Bill 606, and if we guarantee the service charge or income to the staff performing the service. If these rules are followed, restaurants don’t have to pay their bartenders and servers anything per hour because they effectively become commissioned employees. In full transparency, we have only lowered their hourly wage to close to what it was prior to the mandated minimum wage increase legislation passing.

Our servers and bartenders are still making a comparable income receiving the service charge versus the optional gratuity, but it represents a significant reduction in payroll expenses for the business.

Under our policy, 100% of the 20% service charge goes to the employees actually providing the service. It is not shared with our cooks, dishwashers, or other employees working in hourly positions. None of the 20% service charge is kept by the company to offset any other costs.

This state-mandated wage increase legislation has been, and continues to be, the number one reason that so many restaurants and bars in Florida, especially in the Tampa Bay area, are going out of business at such a high rate.

Prior to the past few years, it was reasonably customary for a restaurant or bar to make a 15% to 20% profit or return on investment. Good and hardworking restaurant owners are currently “fortunate” to make just a 5% profit or return on their investment. Most are actually struggling just to break even.

A soft economy, high food costs, high interest rates, massive rent increases, and unsustainable state-mandated wage increases are all reasons for these recent restaurant and bar closures. However, state-mandated wage increases of more than 100% in just a few years are the single largest reason that restaurants and bars are failing at such a high rate. Pinellas County has recently lost hundreds of restaurants, and there are hundreds more barely hanging on.

We don’t like applying a 20% service charge, but it is the only legal means available to restaurant owners to lessen the unsustainable impacts of these recent state-mandated wage increases. That said, we believe the only issues the service charge “should” create for our customers, beyond it just not being a popular practice, would be if a customer receives poor service or if they don’t customarily leave a 20% tip or any tip at all.

We disclose this policy on the check itself, on our handheld devices used for payment, it’s shown on our advertising TVs throughout the restaurant every minute or so, it’s printed on our menus, it’s posted on our website, and we have over 50 signs physically posted all around the venue. Our staff also verbally disclose this as payment is being collected. All of our printed language indicates that if you’ve had any issues at all with your experience, just let us know, and we will make an adjustment to your bill immediately.

We hope this provides a transparent explanation for the reasoning behind having this 20% service charge in lieu of an optional gratuity. We love and appreciate all of our customers and hope this does not deter anyone from continuing to be loyal to our venue and our great team of employees.

For further information, watch this short 9-minute video interview with our owner, Keith Overton, transparently discussing this policy as well as the implications that the state-mandated wage increases have had on the restaurant industry throughout Tampa Bay

All inquiries or questions can be emailed directly to Keith Overton at [email protected]