What the - anyone else see these at other restaurants around town? https://t.co/BIiRkLMWy7
— PoPville (@PoPville) August 15, 2017
A minimum wage fee charged at a restaurant owned by one of the biggest billionaires in the industry has outraged people.
An individual named Brian sent the above receipt in to Washington, D.C. blog Popville, after discovering the surcharge at the Oceanaire Restaurant. The receipt quickly went viral, eliciting angry responses from those who saw it:
Right wing political statement. Take your business elsewhere
— bjornapooryoung (@Bjornapoor) August 16, 2017
@Oceanaire let me add my name to the list of people who will be skipping your overpriced pretentious restaurant.
— (((dryhopped))) (@dimwitdoc) August 15, 2017
Um... isn't it customary to just raise your prices instead of not telling people how much you charge for stuff until the bill comes?
— JamieT (@JamieTre) August 15, 2017
An investigation by the Washington Post revealed that Oceanaire is a group of multiple restaurants owned by corporate giant Landry's. Landry's CEO, Tilman Fertitta, recently acquired Joe's Crab Shack in a bankruptcy auction and immediately began closing several of them.
Fertitta has often spoken about the minimum wage, warning people of its consequences. In 2014, he told CNBC that consumers should expect prices to raise if they want a higher minimum wage for workers. Additionally, Fertitta once referred to the minimum wage as a "training wage."
Oceanaire appears to have gone public with their minimum wage notice to make such a statement. Furthermore, other locations in San Diego and Boston also had the surcharge posted.
However, once the Washington Post went public with their story, Tilman Fertitta reached out with a statement. Fertitta claims that he did not know about the minimum wage fee at Oceanaire restaurants. When he discovered the surcharge, he immediately removed it and offered refunds to all customers affected by it.
Menu prices, however, will still go up according to a statement from Oceanaire head Tim Whitlock, so the "minimum wage fee" could technically still be present. At least it won't be making as bold or brash of a statement.
