Socialist-style restaurants bill customers for their waiters’ health care costs via surcharge

Socialist restaurants want customers to pay for their waiters' health care costs
Socialist restaurants in the left-wing Austin, Texas want you to subsidize their wait staff’s health care costs because they’re too cheap to pay it themselves. (Sarah Heard/Foreign & Domestic)

Some restaurants in left-wing Austin, Texas want you to subsidize their employees’ health care costs and paid sick leave.

For instance, Foreign & Domestic restaurant added a 3% “health insurance surcharge” to their customers’ checks to pay for their employees’ health insurance costs. Why? Because the socialist-style restaurant is apparently too cheap to cover it themselves.

alexandria ocasio cortez socialism meme

Restaurant Owners Claim Patrons Are ‘Thrilled’ to Pay Extra

Foreign & Domestic co-owners Sarah Heard and Nathan Lemley say patrons can refuse to accept the surcharge, but most haven’t because they’re thrilled to pay extra for someone else’s health care costs.

“Our guests have mostly been not only accepting, but excited about the practice,” Heard told Fox News. “Since January 1, we have had less than five guests ask to have the fee removed.”

Hoover’s Cooking takes a different approach: It added a mandatory $1 “community value contribution” to cover paid sick leave for its employees. The restaurant explains the extra charge in a note to customers that reads:

“We want to do right by our team of cooks, servers and support staff. An extra dollar might not seem like a lot, but added to your bill, you’re helping provide Paid Time Off [PTO] for each and every employee at Hoover’s Cooking.

“The extra portion of comfort and security PTO brings means that the staffer is healthier, happier, and they enjoy working at Hoover’s because our patrons show they care.”

The ironic thing is that the customers who frequent Foreign & Domestic and Hoover’s Cooking probably go there because their menus are relatively inexpensive.

It’s unclear what patrons really think about this, since most people don’t want to be accused of being cheapskates.

Other restaurants around the country, including eateries in San Francisco, Chicago and Minneapolis, have instituted similar surcharges.

Twitter Rips Surcharges: ‘Stop Electing Democrats!’

Meanwhile, Twitter users torched the surcharge, saying they will not patronize any restaurant that makes them pay extra for someone else’s health care costs — especially since they tip (and most waiters don’t pay taxes on tips).

One person fumed: “I refuse to go to any restaurant that takes it upon themselves to tax their customers.”

https://twitter.com/olgatourn/status/1117740507877322758

“The people do this have got to come from a Democratic Socialist State. The day I see this charge on my receipt will be my last at that place.”

https://twitter.com/IronmanIPMC/status/1117751508429410305

“I see a surcharge on any bill I WILL NEVER DO BUSINESS WITH THAT ESTABLISHMENT AGAIN! All costs should be included in the price, not ADDED at end to the bill. F that ?”

https://twitter.com/Kgoldberg71/status/1117744753519538176

“That’s why I like eating at home. I have to pay for my own health insurance. Don’t be adding a cost on my food bill to pay someone else’s.”

https://twitter.com/ST1200Girl/status/1117742934043058176

“STOP ELECTING DEMOCRATS.”

https://twitter.com/LochTheScot/status/1117742549391822849

AOC’s Own Constituents Call Her the ‘Bronx Bolshevik’

Were these restaurants inspired by Democratic socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez? While AOC is a media darling, her own constituents slammed her as the “Bronx Bolshevik.”

“She’s an empty vessel with a really loud mouth,” one Bronx resident said. Another quipped: “AOC is a dumb kid who answered a casting call.”

https://twitter.com/samantha_chang/status/1112364743883407361

Muslim activist destroys ingrate Ilhan Omar: She’s ‘an embarrassment and a disgrace’

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