Financing

Why more restaurants are adding service fees

A Deeper Dive: Scott Lawton, CEO and cofounder of bartaco, joins the podcast to talk about tacos, customer loyalty and the growing trend of surcharges.

Why are more restaurants adding service fees?

This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Scott Lawton, the CEO and cofounder of bartaco.

Bartaco operates 27 locations, specializing specifically in tacos. Lawton talks about how the chain was founded and discusses its current growth plans.  

We also talk about the lure of tacos and why they’re so popular these days. And I ask him about loyalty, and how the chain has been able to build it among its customer base.

But we also talk extensively about service charges, which have grown in popularity in restaurants—and many other industries, for that matter. Lawton discusses his reluctance to add them to one of his restaurants, and why the chain ultimately gave in and may add them elsewhere.

We’re talking tacos and service charges on A Deeper Dive, so check it out.

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts.

Subscribe on Spotify.

Members help make our journalism possible. Become a Restaurant Business member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.

Multimedia

Exclusive Content

Emerging Brands

The race is on for a piece of the pickleball pie

New concepts seem to pop up daily. Here's a look at how the pickleball eatertainment landscape is taking shape.

Financing

Will Subway make Roark Capital too dominant? Not really

The Bottom Line: The addition of the sandwich giant will make Roark a bigger player than McDonald's in the U.S. But its position in the sandwich market will not be all that unusual.

Financing

Restaurants still look expensive, and consumers are reacting

The Bottom Line: Restaurants have stepped off the pricing gas. But sales are slowing and traffic is weak, and more operators are turning to price promotions.

Trending

More from our partners