Some Ontario Restaurants Are Getting Rid Of Tips & Giving Staff Living Wages Instead

There are a couple of restaurants in Ontario that won't ask guests to tip their servers because they're getting paid living wages instead.

Aiāna in downtown Ottawa and Barque Smokehouse in Toronto's west end both use the tip-free model, and Narcity spoke with both owners to get the low-down of why they made that call.

"We believe that the financial well-being of our team members should not depend on the generosity of our patrons. As [an] employer, it is Aiāna's responsibility to pay a fair and equitable salary," Devinder Chaudhary, Aiāna's owner, said via email.

The Ottawa restaurant has been giving its employees salaries over hourly wages since 2020 and is a certified Ontario Living Wage Network business.

"With the exception of two interns, all our Team Members are paid well above the stipulated living wage," Chaudhary shared and said they also offer competitive salaries and either match or exceed what service staff would have earned with tips. Staff also get health care and retirement benefits.

David Neinstein, the owner of Barque Smokehouse in Toronto, started giving his employees living wages in May and eliminated the tipping model at the restaurant.

"It was the right time to start this practice, which also rights the injustices of the service industry," Neinstein said after he had mentioned that getting rid of tips has been something in the works for years.

Tipping always felt unfair, Neinstein shared, as it can sometimes put workers in a position where their incomes don't come in.

"So, this way, we simply incorporated what we believe to be a fair earning wages than the minimum and at minimum, that our staff are being paid a fair wage," Neinstein said. Minimum wage at his restaurant is $22.25 per hour.

In Ottawa, living wages are $18.60 an hour, while Toronto is looking at $22.08 per hour, but Ontario's minimum wages right now are well below $15 an hour.

So, how does this work?

At Aiāna, the service staff tells all of the guests about how they get paid and that they don't accept gratuity.

"Our prices reflect our full cost based on salary that exceeds living wage requirements, plus the targeted margin," Chaudhary explained.

The prices went up at Barque Smokehouse to help provide servers and staff with living wages, too, but prices would have gone up "no matter what," Neinstein said, due to the rising cost of food across the country.

"The other thing we did is we said, 'Okay, this is what the price would have to be, and then let's average out a tip on top of it'," Neinstein explained and added that they put an 18% tip on top of their menu prices.

What the response has been like from staff and guests

Months before the tip-free model was introduced at Barque Smokehouse, Neinstein spoke with all of the staff about it and explained that their wages would not only be going up, but they would be consistent, too.

Anyone who joined the team in the last three months would also have their wages go up, Neinstein said and mentioned they would also provide their employees with a comprehensive benefits plan that includes mental health coverage and paid time off.

"If you treat your team well, your team will treat the world well," Neinstein added.

Guests who've eaten at the barbecue spot have been supportive of the tip-free model Neinstein shared and said that "no one" has walked in and said it was a terrible idea. It actually gained quite a lot of traction on Toronto's Reddit board, with over 5,000 upvotes and 671 comments about the decision.

Diners at Aiāna have also reached out to Chaudhary to share how they love this approach. As for staff, Chaudhary said they have appreciated that they can count on a steady income "quite unlike the feast-or-famine situation while working for tips."

"Our employees are thorough professionals, and this fact is well acknowledged by a salaried position. We have succeeded in maintaining a healthy level of employee retention in large part due to salary-based compensation," Chaudhary said.

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.