A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff – tipping is no longer accepted.
“We realized we can just skip the tipping,” Hong Dai with WoodHouse BBQ simply put it.
Twelve years ago, her husband Jacky opened the restaurant to create a place in North York that replicated the atmosphere of a market in northern China, grilling lamb, pork belly and chicken skewers on a charcoal barbecue.
“Because both Jacky and I are first generation immigrants, we know how hard it is to feel at home, at ease,” Dai said, adding that all of their staff are new Chinese immigrants. “This restaurant is more than just a business for us, it’s more like our living room.”
In the wake of the pandemic, they pondered how to repay their gratitude to customers who kept them afloat, with some now struggling with the skyrocketing …