the creators of South Park they are certainly no strangers to controversy. But we wonder if they expected to find him with his new restaurant!
In 2021, Nice house filed for bankruptcy, like many restaurants during the pandemic. So Trey Parker and matte stone he decided to use some of his quiet mountain of cash to purchase the Lakewood, Colorado fixture. After all, if it wasn’t made clear in the 2003 episode of the animated monster of him, they’re big fans of the amusement park-style diner…
Trey and Matt spent approximately $40 million purchasing and renovating Casa Bonita. The pink palace is finally set to open its doors once again in a soft launch this weekend, by reservation only at this time. (If you are in the Denver area, you can sign up HERE.)
Related: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle aren’t suing South Park After all!
But with this news comes an unexpected twist. Tipping has been abolished at the new Casa Bonita!
Yes, you read that right. In many places, restaurants, casinos and other service jobs pay less than minimum wage, but customer tips keep servers afloat and sometimes turn a profit, depending on the location and the night.
The new Casa Bonita was never going to do that. They were always going to offer at least the minimum wage of $13.65, with tips as an added bonus. In fact, when the restaurant first hired, potential employees were told they could expect wages of $14.27-15.27 plus tips. However, at some point some internal calculations were done and a radical new system was implemented. Instead of paying a little more than minimum wage, the new management decided they would try to pay bartenders and wait staff more, and eliminate tips altogether.
How much does it cost? Casa Bonita employees will earn $30 per hour, more than twice the state minimum wage! Not only that, employees who stay longer than 60 days will get health insurance options, but at the cost of tipping. Anyone who has worked in the service industry knows that these servers will stop having really crazy nights, when the place is packed and no one is cutting corners. You can really win some money those nights! But it will also eliminate those dead days, where the place is so slow that tips don’t even cover the fuel needed to get to work.
Some of the employees HATE the new plan, and they’re the only reason we know about it! Two workers leaked the information to Axios, revealing that they were called to sign a new contract out of the blue. They think they are being scammed.
Are they??
Supposedly, the restaurant, which in many ways operates more like a theme park, tried out the alternative pay plan and found that it was a more consistent and stable income for its employees. In a statement on behalf of management, spokesman stefania jones told Axios Denver:
“Casa Bonita values its employees. Based on recent beta testing of our one-of-a-kind restaurant, we have adjusted our compensation system for efficiency and fairness.”
It’s unclear what will happen if diners leave money anyway or insist on tipping. It’s all pretty unfamiliar territory.
Hmm… Which would YOU choose given the choices, Perezcious Service Professionals? Are they really giving employees a more stable income? Or does it cost them more in the long run?
(Image via Apega/WENN/South Park/YouTube.)
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