Since Heartland is closed for two weeks until July 15th for our annul staff holiday, I took some time to catch up on some of Andrew's postings. I was curious to see a response to a March 26, 2007, posting entitled "Grill-tastic" wherein Andrew supplies a recipe for baby back ribs. I usually don't read those recipe posts since, as a professional chef, I don't find them to be of any particular relevance to me; but since "George" was responding to something that was almost a year and a half old, it piqued my interest. As it turned out, the rib recipe was not the topic of discussion in this particular thread. Instead, there was a lively debate about tip credit and how it applies to minimum wage standards. As usual, the parade of people commenting on and criticizing something about which they have little or no understanding was on full display.

As a restaurant owner whose business and staff are profoundly affected by any legislation that pertains to minimum wage standards, I feel I am better qualified to comment on this issue than most of those who responded to the posting by "Nom de plum (sic) for the sake of backlash" which got the whole thing rolling back in 2007. At Heartland, our wait staff pool their tips. The dining room servers pool their tips separately from the wine bar staff since the check averages are so different and since the dining room servers are paid minimum wage while the bar staff receive an enhanced wage. Everyone who is waiting tables shares in the tips to a greater or lesser degree depending upon how long each individual's particular shift is. For the most part, no one is cut early so the break down is generally even across the board. The only time management shares in the pool is when my my wife and business partner, Mega, takes a section on the floor effectively making her part of the team. Even so, her share is always less than everyone else's. As for the dispensing of those tips, the servers usually do that themselves, and they reserve a portion of those tips for the host, who also receives an enhanced wage, and/or back waiter both of whom assist them during service. They have also chosen at times to give a small gratuity to the dishwasher even though there is no requirement to do so. Our dishwashers are paid $11 an hour. Since the service staff work as a team on the floor, tip pooling is the only fair and reasonable thing to do.

On our list of priorities, our staff always comes first since a happy and well motivated staff lends itself to a better experience for our patrons. Our patrons are our next priority followed by the community, our suppliers, our investors and then us. By utilizing that sequence of priorities, we make sure that our staff are always remunerated on time and as generously as possible. The community receives our support in terms of charitable donations, a clean and well managed facility that is responsive to our neighbors' concerns and the benefits of living wage jobs and fair trade payments to our farmers. Our suppliers, which include our farmers, are always paid on time and in full; and we have never bounced a check in six years of operation. Our investors are essentially our bankers who receive an automatic payment every month for any outstanding notes we have. Finally, Mega and I get paid. Sometimes that's a healthy amount of money. Sometimes it's not. Sometimes it's nothing as is the case right now when we are closed for vacation. Sometimes we throw a little money into the business which is likely to occur upon our return from vacation. All in all, we have been very successful financially while employing these principles, and that success is shared by our staff. We also hand out end of the year gifts and bonuses based upon what the business can afford.

Consequently, when the state and federal governments propose an increase in the minimum wage, we feel strongly that a tip credit provision be part of any increase. I am not proposing that someone who is scraping change off of a table in a diner be subjected to tip credit, but there should be a reasonable cut off (perhaps $30,000 in tips received) at which point a tip credit should be allowed. The highest paid workers in our restaurant are the only ones who are paid minimum wage. A full time dining room server at Heartland should expect to make $40,0000 to $50,000 per year based on a thirty hour work week. That's not a bad wage for part time employment. Conversely, our lowest paid employees make around $22,000 per year for full time work. An increase in the minimum wage sans tip credit would not benefit them since they are already being paid a living wage. The benefit would go to our highest paid employees. Does anyone in his or her right mind think that's fair? By increasing the minimum wage to our highest paid employees, the resources available to increase the wages of those on the low end of the pay scale become further restricted.

When legislation was recently proposed to increase the State of Minnesota mandated minimum wage, the sponsors of the bill were unwilling to discuss tip credit as a provision which prompted the Governor to threaten a veto if tip credit was not included. Rather than seeking a compromise with the Governor, the Legislature allowed the bill to die. Wouldn't it have been more judicious to compromise and move the minimum wage closer to a living wage which what we all need anyway? That is true supply side economics. Give the money to the people on the bottom of the economic ladder thereby helping to lift them out of poverty which will be better for everyone including the rich. I very rarely agree with Tim Pawlenty on anything, but in this particular case I think he got it right.

So when "George" says that, "The tip credit is nothing more than an allowance the employers may steal their worker's tips... The truth of the matter is, when an employer is allowed to take a tip credit he is able to take the employee's tips... The tip credit is nothing more than a law our corrupt government has passed to trick customers into believing business owners aren't stealing their tips," he is voicing some of the most slanderous, short sighted thinking and profoundly uneducated reasoning that I have seen in regard to this subject.

Will every employer who may utilize tip credit to help offset the increase in a server's minimum wage use that money to help better the lot of another employee who is less fortunate? Most likely, that is not the case; but isn't it better to pass a law that at least makes such a scenario possible? Not every employer is a greedy, soul less bastard who is out for only himself or herself to the detriment of the staff. Many of us run our businesses in a fair and moral way. We shouldn't be penalized for the uneducated assumptions of those who have little or no understanding of the issues.

The Kramarczuk’s idea is a must!

Other possibilities:

1)A State Fair theme (food on a bat instead of a stick!)

2) Ballpark shore lunches.

3) "Game" burgers (bison, elk, moose, etc...)

4) Frozen custard stand

Chef Russo-
Thanks so much for enlightening some of us....

I understand people who are tipped are sensative about their money. Everyone wants to make more. But reading the well thought out comments from Lenny vs. the comments from George, I think that looking at it rationally and without bias, it is easy for me at least to side with Lenny.

Lenny, I have dined at your establishment and enjoyed it. The talk on the street is that you and your wife are wonderful to work for. Keep up the great work. I also love your posts, even if they are a big long winded at times.

Posts such as the one by Chef Russo and the local talent drawn here are the reason I check AZ's blog daily. Great content!

Regarding ballpark food, my fear is the usual suspects of local (Hormel, Schweigert, Old Dutch) will exert their will and be our options as in the Metrodome. We should be able to have great poultry, pork, and fresh water fish options. I love AZ's Brasa and Kramarczuk’s ideas.

* Since commercial walleye is Canadian, I would like to see fish available from Lake Superior commercial fishermen of the North Shore.

* Turkey dogs and some of the unique sausages available at Clancy's.

* Bison burgers.

* Roasted corn on the cob in August and September.

* Summit, Schell’s, Brau Bros. and Surly on tap. Mmmmm...

An employee receives #30 in tips and his employer reduces his hourly wages by $30. The point is, the employee who received the tip is seeing nothing from customers tipping him. The tip credit allows employers to take away the financial benefit of the tips customers have presented his employee.

As far as using the tips to better the lot of other, less fortunate workers, the tips do not belong to the business owner. If a customers want others to benefit from their tip they can tip them themselves. To take the customer's tips and use it to pay employees who are less fortunate is to steal the customer's tip.

Robin Hood was still a thief. The truth of the matter is, the workers who are having tip credits taken on them don't earn that much money. The truth of the matter is if you give employers the ability to steal the financial benefit of the tips some of their workers are receiving, many business owners will pocket the benefits.

Customers are tipping to increase the earning of certain workers in the service industry. The tip credit nullifies those benefits customers are attempting to bestow on workers of their choosing.

Allowing business owners the ability to reduce the hourly wages of an employee due to the fact customer's have tipped him, creates a situation where employers may take the employees tips away from him. Instead of directly taking the employee's tips, the tip credit allows employers to indirectly take the employees tips through payroll deductions.

I don't think the people who drafted and created the tip credit understood what they were actually allowing.

For instance, a provision of the tip credit states that in order for an employer to take a tip credit the employer must allow the tipped employee to retain all tips. The problem is, an employee can't retain that which his employer has been allowe to take.

When employers are allowed to deduct an employee's tips from his hourly wages, the employee is unable to retain his tips.

As a customer, I'm glad I found out that Mr. Russo wants a tip credit. I will not be going back to Heartland because of that. Too bad, I liked the food and the service but I care more about simple justice. Leave tips alone. A waitress trying to get a loan for a house cannot use tips as wages for purposes of determining whether she can get a loan. Pooling tips should be voluntary, by state law. If Russo is is requiring it as staff policy, he is breaking the law.

I want you all to think about this for one moment.

Customers give you $40 in tips during your day at work and your employer subsequently deducts $40 from your hourly pay for that day. What benefit are you seeing from the $40 customer's gave you? The only one seeing any kind of financial benefit is your employer who is now seeing a $40 reduction of in staffing costs.

This is what the tip credit allows. It allow business owners to benefit themselves to the tips customer's are presenting their employees.

Do you really believe business owners should be benefitting themselves to the tips customers are giving their employees?

I, for one, do not believe business owners should be benefitting themselves to the tips customers present their workers. If businesses need additional income to make ends meet, then they should do in a manner that is legal, not steal it.