Ottawa restaurateur nixes tips to pay staff higher wages
An Ottawa restaurateur who doesn’t ask patrons to tip says paying a living wage to employees normalizes the idea that restaurant work is more than a gig, it's a career.
Speaking to Newstalk 580 CFRA’s “CFRA Live with Andrew Pinsent”, Devinder Chaudhary said he opened his fine-dining restaurant Aiana just as the COVID-19 pandemic started shutting restaurants down.
“Our timing was perfect, to say the least,” he said.
It was his first venture into the restaurant industry, he explained.
“Perhaps that gave us the opportunity to think slightly out of the box, to come in with a fresh perspective,” he explained. “My son, who is the executive chef of Aiana, he had been in the industry a lot and I got to observe this tipping model structure, which seemed to me very, very unreasonable and unfair.”
Since it opened its doors, Aiana has paid its employees a salary, with no gratuity.
According to its website, Aiana is a “living wage employer” in line with the Ontario Living Wage Network.
“It is not a fixed rate of pay, and rather, a wage that is reassessed each year to correspond with external factors,” the website says.
According to the Ontario Living Wage Network, a living wage in Ottawa is at least $18.60/hour, as of last November.
Some restaurants opt for a “service charge” line item to replace the gratuity, but Chaudhary says that’s not the case at Aiana.
“We just say, ‘This is our price,’” he said. “As a matter of fact, when the cheques are presented, we don’t have a line for additional gratuity.”
Chaudhary said servers explain to patrons that the price is the “final price” when seated, and that there’s no need to leave a tip afterwards.
“For some of the guests, it’s a bit confusing, but that confusion lasts for about 15 seconds and it’s all very well received,” he said.
He explained that he believes workers in the restaurant industry deserve to be treated as the career professionals they are.
“A salaried position normalizes and mainstreams our restaurant workers,” he said. “I strongly believe that it acknowledges that a restaurant job is not just a gig, it’s a career choice. I have observed my team members’ service to the guests and our back-of-the-house cook wonderful culinary delights. They are definitely professional. Take me to the back of the house and the best perhaps I could do is fry an egg. Put me in the front and I’d be shaking taking a plate to the table.”
He said his model is not a trend in Ottawa yet, but he believes he can demonstrate that it is viable.
“Anyone who is working for 40 hours should not be obligated to find another job for 10 to 20 hours just to make ends meet,” he said. “We are a rich and prosperous nation. Our workers should have a decent standard of living. That, for us, was extremely critical.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Trudeau promises $1B in loans for child-care providers to expand care centres
The federal government is launching a new loan program to help child-care providers in Canada expand their spaces, and will be extending further student loan forgiveness and training options for early childhood educators, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Thursday.
Where is the worst place for allergy sufferers in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
Multiple bridges in Calgary shut down for police incident
Calgary police have shut down a number of bridges into and out of the downtown core as officers deal with a distraught individual.
N.B. man wins $64 million from Lotto 6/49
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
'Nonsense:' Doug Ford slams lawsuits filed by Ontario school boards against social media platforms
Premier Doug Ford says that lawsuits launched by four Ontario school boards against a trio of social media platforms are “nonsense” and risk becoming a distraction to the work that really matters.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.
Do these exercises for core strength if you can't stomach doing planks
Planks are one of the most effective exercises for strengthening your midsection, as they target all of your major core muscles: the transverse abdominis, rectus abdominis, external obliques and internal obliques. Yet despite the popularity of various 10-minute plank challenges, planking is actually one of the most dreaded core exercises, according to many fitness experts.
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.