News

Danny Meyer's restaurant brands eliminate tipping

Union Square Hospitality Group announced today that starting in November, it will eliminate tipping at all of its13 full-service venues, while also increasing menu item prices

October 14, 2015

Danny Meyer, who founded Shake Shack, said his brand, Union Square Hospitality Group, will eliminate tipping at all of its 13 full-service venues, New York Eaterreported. It will also increase menu item prices.

Many individual high-end restaurants have eliminated tipping, but this is the first time zero-gratuity will be the policy for a major American restaurant group — casual restaurants included, the article stated.

The Modern, Meyer’s most expensive and most visited establishment, will be the first USHG restaurant to implement the overall system Meyer is calling "Hospitality Included." Starting in late November, dinner guests will notice four new things over the course of their meals, including:

• Many prices on the menu will be much higher than they previously had been.
• Menus will carry a note informing diners of the new policy.
• The only supplemental charge on the itemized bill will be for sales tax.
• There will be no space on the guest check for leaving a tip — just a line for the diner’s signature.