Some restaurants embrace putting health care surcharges on diners' checks

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A few restaurants in Austin, Texas, are the latest to ask diners to chip in a little extra for the sake of their employees’ health and well-being.

Foreign & Domestic, in Austin’s North Loop, and Hoover’s Cooking, in Cherrywood, have recently added surcharges to patrons’ checks to help cover the cost of health insurance and paid sick leave, respectively.


Foreign & Domestic’s optional 3 percent surcharge was added to each bill after co-owners Sarah Heard and Nathan Lemley started providing “great” health insurance for employees as of Jan. 1, but patrons can request to decline the charge — though Heard told Fox News that most diners haven’t.

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“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.”

Lemley further told KVUE that Foreign & Domestic chose to institute the surcharge rather than raise the prices of food, which he said would “actually cost the guest more” than 3 percent.

Foreign & Domestic informs customers of its optional 3-percent surcharge at the bottom of every menu. "If you would like to have this removed, please let your server know," the text reads.

Hoover’s Cooking, meanwhile, institutes a mandatory $1 “community value contribution,” the details of which are outlined in a note from owner Hoover Alexander, which is provided with menus.

“Just as we value you as a patron, 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 note reads in part.

“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,” Alexander added.

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