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Open
Letter
to
the
Restaurant
Community:
Why
we
are
changing
our
business
model,
and
why
you
will
see
an
administrative
fee
on
your
bill.
We
have
decided
to
change
the
business
model
of
Tres
Gatos
and
Centre
Street
Cafe
in
Jamaica
Plain
in
order
to
be
able
to
pay
our
back
of
house
(BOH)
kitchen
staff
better
in
relation
to
the
rest
of
our
team.
The
disparity
between
front
of
house
(FOH)
and
BOH
compensation
has
been
growing
for
many
years.
What
was
a
gap
25
years
ago
has
become
an
abyss,
and
it
will
only
continue
to
widen.
We
think
that
within
5
years
the
majority
of
restaurants
will
have
adopted
some
measure
to
address
this
critical
issue.
We
are
choosing
to
do
so
now
for
the
benefit
of
our
BOH
teams,
and
because
we
would
like
to
be
agents
of
change
and
share
our
results
with
other
restaurants.
We
are
writing
this
letter
for
three
reasons:
1. To
be
completely
transparent
to
all
of
our
stakeholders
(team,
community,
guests,
vendors,
investors/lenders)
about
what
we
are
doing.
2. To
explain
why
we
are
doing
it
and
why
it
is
so
important
to
us
and
our
industry.
And,
3. To
ask
for
support
as
we
try
a
new
approach.
There
are
some
well-known
statistics
regarding
wage
growth
among
tipped
employees
vs.
non-tipped
employees.
In
our
restaurants,
tipped/FOH
team
members
make
2.2
to
2.6
times
as
much
as
non-
tipped/BOH
employees.
The
fundamental
issue
underlying
this
widening
gap,
as
we
have
come
to
see
it,
is
that
tipped
employees
are
tied
to
top-line
revenue,
whereas
back
of
house
employees
are
tied
to
bottom
line
results.
Every
time
we
increase
menu
prices
to
cover
inflation
somewhere
in
the
expense
structure,
we
cover
the
expense
but
we
widen
the
wage
gap.
While
weve
largely
been
spared
the
hiring
crisis
many
restaurants
have
faced,
we
feel
the
wage
problem
can
no
longer
be
ignored.
How
can
we
as
owners
tolerate
a
scenario
whereby
half
of
our
teams
compensation
is
about
60%
lower
than
the
other
halfs?
Were
tired
of
feeling
like
our
kitchen
staff
are
second
class
citizens.
Were
tired
of
knowing
that
they
would
be
financially
better
off
bussing
tables
or
working
at
a
chain
restaurant.
We
need
to
hitch
(at
least
part
of)
their
star
to
top
line
revenue
if
we
want
to
correct
the
disparity.
The
impasse
weve
reached
presents
us
with
a
host
of
difficult
choices.
Do
we
live
with
the
status
quo
and
accept
stagnant
wages
in
the
kitchen?
Or,
in
an
effort
to
pay
our
kitchen
staff
more,
should
we
cut
total
hours
and
streamline
how
we
operate:
stop
making
our
own
pasta,
bread,
and
pastry,
and
buy
those
things
even
though
we
know
theyre
better
if
we
make
them?
Should
we
stop
doing
our
own
fish
and
animal
butchery?
Should
we
work
with
mega-vendors
and
stop
supporting
local
agriculture?
Should
we
give
less
to
charity
and
support
fewer
local
events
and
organizations?
Or,
finally,
should
we
ask
guests
to
pay
more
in
order
to
directly
benefit
the
kitchen?
Beginning
December
1,
2015
we
are
making
two
substantial
changes
to
how
we
charge
at
Tres
Gatos
and
Centre
Street
Cafe:
First,
all
group,
prix
fixe,
and
event
dining
will
have
a
15%
service
charge
and
a
7%
hospitality
administrative
fee
added
to
the
bill.
Second,
all
other
diners
will
have
a
flat
3%
hospitality
administrative
fee
added
to
their
bill,
and
guests
may
still
tip
as
they
see
fit.
All
of
the
charged
hospitality
administrative
fees
will
be
used
for
raises,
benefits,
and
more
sustainable
work
hours
for
our
BOH
team.
We
know
many
people
will
ask,
Why
dont
you
just
raise
your
prices?
This
is
your
problem.
Our
response
is
that
it
is
our
problem,
and
that
in
fact
we
are
raising
prices,
albeit
in
a
slightly
different
way
that
specifically
aims
to
close
the
quality
of
life
gap
between
front
and
back
of
house.
The
FOH/BOH
wage
gap
issue
pervades
the
U.S.
restaurant
industry.
Success
and
evolution
in
this
industry
is
our
lifes
work,
and
we
believe
our
restaurants
and
small,
independent
restaurants
in
general
will
not
be
sustainable
for
much
longer
without
a
correction.
Quality
restaurants
cannot
function,
much
less
thrive,
without
quality
chefs
and
cooks.
We
hope
that
making
this
small
change
will
have
a
sufficiently
large
effect.
Our
goal
is
not
only
to
improve
the
lives
of
our
BOH
employees,
but
to
serve
as
a
test
model
from
which
other
small
restaurants
can
gain
valuable
insight.
We
acknowledge
that
this
is
a
risk,
one
that
might
not
work,
and
if
it
doesnt
were
willing
to
chart
another
course.
But
we
need
to
take
our
best
shot
at
fixing
a
problem
that
is
growing
increasingly
difficult
and
intolerable,
and
we
need
your
understanding
and
support.
For
small
restaurants
that
dont
want
to
sacrifice
craft
or
integrity
in
order
to
serve
the
communities
they
love,
we
believe
this
is
a
fair,
effective,
and
sustainable
approach.
We
will
open
Casa
Verde
with
this
model
as
well.
Our
hope
is
that
by
making
the
compensation
more
equitable
at
each
restaurant,
our
teams
will
be
able
to
achieve
more,
not
less,
for
many
years
to
come.
We
thank
you
in
advance
for
your
understanding
and
support
as
we
attempt
to
correct
this
core
issue.
Thank
you,
We
Live
to
Serve,
Keith
Harmon
David
Doyle
Maricely
Perez-Alers
(Owners
of
Tres
Gatos,
Centre
Street
Cafe
and
Casa
Verde
of
Jamaica
Plain.)