The owners of the Russian-inspired restaurant in Portland say the tip system is rooted in inequality.
PORTLAND, Oregon – Kachka, a famous Russian-inspired restaurant in Portland, will replace tips with a 22% service charge when it reopens after its vacation on Thursday.
Company owners are instituting a fee to support their pay equity plan, which they recently announced on Kachka’s website. The plan includes a starting salary of $ 25 an hour, free medical coverage, and profit sharing.
“We fell in love with the hospitality industry because we love to take care of others. In fact, we have arrived in an environment that has never thought of taking care of its own. For too long, the Restoration has propagated a system of inequality, racism, and discrimination, ”wrote owners Bonnie and Israel Morales. “By opening our own business, we were finally able to correct these inequalities, but we were afraid of making waves in an established system. It’s time to break with the dysfunctional status quo.”
The biggest change for customers will be to no longer choose a tip amount for waiters and other staff.
“We know it’s a big demand for our customers to relinquish tip control, but we hope the past eight years have shown that we are trustworthy operators with no ulterior motives,” Morales wrote. “We want you to know that by being a Patron of Kachka, your money is going to a small business that strives to create a positive and rewarding workplace.”
Read the whole story in the Portland Business Journal.
