Momofuku titan David Chang is trying his hand at no tipping at his latest concept, Nishi.
At the Manhattan eatery, which opened last week, “[w]e want to pay sous chefs, cooks and dishwashers a living wage,” Chang said in an interview with Lucky Peach, the magazine he co-founded.
“The real cost of selling food is not accurately reflecting the labor that’s going into it,” he added. “In 2000, I got paid maybe $10 an hour. Inflation has definitely risen, but cooks’ wages haven’t. That’s one of our biggest issues. We want to be able to grow as a company so we can provide for more people. [No tipping] is a way we might be able to do that.”
Chang isn’t the only high-profile restaurateur to venture into no-tipping territory. Danny Meyer recently made waves when his Union Square Hospitality Group announced it was eliminating tipping at its restaurants.
Read the full story via Lucky Peach.
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