New Parkdale restaurant becomes no-tip establishment

Then & Now Restaurant wants to make the dining experience fair for both the customer and employee by going tip-free. Stella Acquisto reports.

By Stella Acquisto

A new Toronto restaurant is attracting attention over its decision to be a no-tip establishment.

Owner Eric Wang says the primary reason was to eliminate an unconscious bias toward customers.

Then and Now opened in February 2023 in Parkdale and serves Asian-Euro fusion food, including ricotta dumplings and steak tartare. The concept for the restaurant was developed by Wang, who climbed his way up the hospitality ladder.

“I dropped out of high school when I was 16. Then I needed a job at the time, so I found a full-time dishwashing gig, and for whatever reason, I fell in love with it. Working on my feet, the teamwork,” shared Wang.

He started to work his way up in the restaurant from the back to front, went back to school for Culinary Management and Hospitality Management and has now opened his first restaurant.

The cuisine itself at Then and Now is a combination of the food he grew up with.

“Then I started to work in all these different cuisines and different restaurants. I fell in love with other types of food. I really wanted to combine both; hence the ‘Then and Now‘ fused together.”

The no-tip code eliminates bias, restaurant owner says

Wang tells CityNews the no-tip concept is based on the idea that a guest shouldn’t have to determine how much employees get paid.

“Don’t have the guest pay what employers are essentially supposed to pay in terms of minimum wage,” Wang explained.

“Yes, servers and bartenders have the same minimum wage as any other job now, but at the same time, you know it’s not quite fair to say that the guest is the one giving the remaining of what the job is worth.”

Wang’s full-time employees get a base salary plus a percentage of total sales, as well as benefits and sick days. He said he believes this way is fair and eliminates unconscious bias toward customers.

“A lot of guests who aren’t familiar with tipping typically are from places that are not from the West,” explained Wang.

“Throughout the time of working and experience as a server and bartender, you get to see that. So, automatically when you see someone walking just based on their skin colour, you assume that they’re not going to tip you therefore, you’re not going to give them the best service.”

While Wang was initially worried that he would struggle to find servers, he was pleasantly surprised by the reaction.

“There are a lot more people out there that believe in this concept, and I want something more sustainable and something that they can believe in, especially as a brand-new restaurant,” he said. “So, thankfully, I didn’t have too much worry in terms of finding people to help me out.”

Although it is a tip-free zone, Wang said that he wouldn’t stop customers who really want to.

“As long as they are aware that we are not a tipping establishment and if it comes from the bottom of their heart, we’re not going to say no.”

With files from Meredith Bond

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