At Fire & Vine, we are immensely proud to be a non-tipping restaurant for the benefit of our patrons and employees. However, since implementing this policy, interest and questions have surfaced as to the benefits of this approach.

Why non-tipping?

A question we are often asked by our customers is: if we eliminate tips, are we eliminating the motivation for our servers to provide outstanding service? This is not the case. Why? Central to being a good server is providing good service. We are incredibly proud of the professionalism demonstrated by our servers and are so grateful for the staff who have chosen to continue their careers at Abrusci’s. Through our policy, the motivation for the servers (who we treat as professionals in their field) is generated through a variety of initiatives which include:

• Full-time staff, front of house and back of house make a consistent living wage which provides stable earnings.
• Each employee gets paid vacation.
• Each employee gets monthly profit sharing bonuses.
• Servers have the opportunity to earn rewards for exceptional service.

By introducing this policy we’ve been able to lessen the income gap between front and back of house employees. This gap in compensation has widened significantly over the years because, by law, employees like dishwashers and cooks are not allowed to accept tips.

You will notice the hospitality charge as a separate line item on all our checks. This charge goes to the house and divided amongst all employees, allowing everyone to now earn an excellent hourly wage, plus vacation pay, thereby motivating them to provide world class food and service.

What’s in it for you?

New customers or existing customers, big parties or small parties, young or old; every customer receives the same great service from all of our employees. The out of pocket for customers is the same as in a tipping environment, but no math is required at the end of the meal. However, If you had excellent service and are adamant about tipping your server, we do allow cash tips.

Overall our ‘no tipping policy’ has been a success. Our team is committed to providing an excellent experience to all our guests. Not only do we believe this model gives us an advantage in doing that, but as a whole it has changed our employee culture for the better.

Make your next outing at Fire & Vine and come meet our staff – who are happy and proud to do things just a little bit differently.