OUR WHY & OUR HOW

Short answer 

We add a 20% service charge to every check, regardless of party size, for our hourly team members. This service charge is our effort to create equity and stability in our industry.  We have included an optional gratuity line if guests wish to acknowledge the team for an exceptional experience.  Any gratuity left is distributed among all hourly dining room and kitchen team members who help create your dining experience.

Long Answer

We believe the traditional restaurant compensation model needs to be fixed. It needs to provide the kind of stability and equality of pay that restaurant team members deserve.  We feel compelled to offer a different business model to our team, our community, and the industry as a whole, ensuring people in our industry receive fair and equitable wages and benefits transparently.

There is a deep pay disparity between those working behind the scenes, in kitchens and dish rooms, and our front-of-house service staff, despite both teams being essential to the guest experience and the business. This is largely a product of the common restaurant structure in the U.S.—a broken system built on a low-overhead model consisting of minimum-wage kitchen employees and well-below-minimum-wage service staff. These employees are subject to the customary American tipping system that data shows suffers from bias, sexism, and discrimination. 

At our restaurants, we started by charging a 22% service charge, so we can use the average gratuity left (22%) by guests to pay our entire hourly team a higher hourly rate. But, the D.C. Council decided to cap service charges at 20%.  We believe good wages and an open dialogue lead to a stronger, happier team and, ultimately, a better experience for you as a guest.

Should you wish to acknowledge the team for an exceptional experience, we have included an optional gratuity line.  Any gratuity left is distributed among all hourly members in the dining room and kitchen, who help create your dining experience.  Our managers never receive any portion of the tips left for the hourly team.  We will continue to seek new and innovative ways of operating restaurants that create a better life for employees and a better community for our neighbors and guests.  

Thank you for supporting us as we strive to change hospitality through integrity and grace.

Hollis Wells Silverman

The Duck & The Peach | La Collina | Méli Mezze & Wine | The Wells

Eastern Point Collective