Say goodbye to the awkward moments of deciding how much to tip at the restaurant, because South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker have taken tipping off the table.
Tipping is deeply rooted in the United States, where servers often rely on gratuities to make a living due to sub-minimum wages.
This controversial practice has been hotly debated over the years, leading many to argue that restaurants should pay a fair living wage instead. Enter Matt Stone and Trey Parker, who have flipped the script by abolishing tipping at their iconic Mexican eatery, Casa Bonita, situated in Lakewood, Colorado.
As reported by the Daily Mail, Casa Bonita is far from your typical restaurant. Boasting a colossal 52,000 square-foot space, this Lakewood institution offers unique attractions like live indoor cliff diving and a thrilling walkthrough experience in Black Bart's Cave.
With a history stretching back nearly 50 years, the venue was on the verge of bankruptcy until Stone and Parker swooped in back in 2021, acquiring it for a cool $3.1 million and investing an additional $40 million in renovations.
Staff contracts were updated just days before the restaurant's grand reopening, with new terms indicating that servers and bartenders would receive a whopping $30 per hour—more than double Colorado's current minimum wage of $13.65 — but are not allowed to accept tips.
Stefanie Jones, a spokesperson for Casa Bonita, explained to Axios: "Casa Bonita values its employees and based on the recent beta testing of our one-of-a-kind restaurant, we have adjusted our compensation system for efficiency and fairness." Initially, the restaurant had offered lower hourly wages, ranging from $14.27 to $15.27, allowing staff to keep their tips.
But the revolutionary new pay structure aims to offer more stability, especially during slower periods. It was also introduced as the restaurant requires tickets to dine at the restaurant, making it more like an entertainment venue -- a factor that reportedly deterring some guests from tipping.
Although the change has generally been well-received, there are some concerns that the new system could result in a decrease in total wages during peak times when tips can be particularly generous. "In order to provide a higher-than-average, dependable wage, we shifted to a no-tipping model," said Ms. Jones, emphasizing the decision was made in the interest of "efficiency and fairness".
According to KDVR, the new wage rate means that the majority of Casa Bonita's 256 employees will earn more than the median wage in Colorado, reported to be $26.01 as of May 2022.
However, just a few weeks into the new launch, and workers at Casa Bonita started a petition asking management for changes to the pay structure and benefits.
Per Restaurant Business, at the time of hiring, staff were promised that the pay structure would be based on minimum wage plus tips.
As a result, workers at the restaurant launched a petition titled, 'To: Trey Parker, Matt Stone, Dana 'Loca' Rodriguez, and Casa Bonita Management".
Among several issues, the petition called for "a mutually agreed on tip pool structure with input from all staff members", which would be accompanied by "full transparency regarding how the mutually agreed upon tip pool will be dispersed".
An update posted last month revealed: "We have been in meetings with management and are determining what our next steps should be.
Casa Bonita has been an affectionate subject for the South Park creators, featuring in a 2003 episode where the show's characters visit the restaurant. Fast forward to today, and the duo's real-life influence on the establishment is making headlines and changing the way people dine.
We'll have to wait and see if the ripple effects of this change reverberate beyond the doors of Casa Bonita, and to the rest of the restaurant industry.
