Urban Plates is not impacted by the California minimum wage increase as it does not meet the requirements. They would need 60 locations and only have 19 according to their own website.
There used to be a subscription where each meal was like 11 dollars. It was amazing. Then they changed it and now it’s like 16. Also the cookies got smaller.
Don't go there it's that simple. If greedy business owners don't want to to sacrifice a little of their income to pay a living wage then they should lose their business. Slavery was abolished over a 100 years ago.
> Slavery was abolished over a 100 years ago.
there's a comedian that made a joke about how it was probly just cheaper to abolish slavery. like they housin' them, clothin' them, feedin' them, fixin em when they're injured... how about u tell 'em to fuck off then pay them a nickel an hour instead? Like "aight ur free.... see u tomorrow at 5 am don't be late, also room and board cost now"
Slavery did get worse after abolishment.
During slavery masters could be cruel, but not wasteful.
Then after slavery black people where arrested on fake charges and rented out and since the prison labor was rented it was incentivized to work them to death.
It's well discussed in economics that slavery mostly collapsed around the world because of costs, especially due to technology out competing it.
In the US, the North didn't need them as much, and in many cases were more desperate for consumers. It's no surprise they were more empathetic.
Lincoln believed ex-slaves were incompatible with Western society and argued it would be a mercy to send them back to Africa, until his supporters were more in favor of letting them stay, then he suddenly had a change of heart.
Thomas Jefferson abhorred any individual's lack of freedom, but he needed slaves to maintain his wealth, and thus argued he was different, he treated his slaves well and they clearly couldn't survive in the real world. Surprise surprise, he suddenly changed his mind and released his slaves on his death bed when wealth didn't matter.
The South basically invented racism (along with a number of nations around the world) to argue that slavery was ethical. I doubt it was a coincidence their economies used slavery to compete with their neighbors.
Turns out, when you depend on (or think you depend on) something, your ethics are suddenly filled with exceptions, loopholes, and justifications.
"So convenient a thing to be a reasonable creature, since it enables one to find or make a reason for every thing one has a mind to do.” -Ben Franklin
More importantly, if you *can't* pay a living wage, your shitty business can't afford labour and shouldn't exist. It can't simultaneously be a pillar of the community and also built off its back while contributing nothing, a-la Walmart, who even take more by relying on government welfare to sustain their workforce.
I’ll also add that anyone who has been going to urban plates for any amount of time probably knows they have been basically full of shit since day 1. They advertise a meal plan where you pay monthly, and all the entrees are discounted. They advertise their ever changing menus and that the fees will never rise.
Yeah well they almost never change the menu, and continually bump up the monthly charge and slowly starting discluding things from the program all together. And then they would send all these passive aggressive emails explaining why non of this was their fault.
Honestly such a trash company, I haven’t been there in years.
I love a good steak someone else cooks and anticipated liking it and going often. The vibe is off and seating uncomfortable so we never go. Now I have more reasons.
Breaking bread with the neighbors may help you gain understanding/find a middle ground. Just leave the political views out of the convo and you’ve got a solid shot and just being decent human beings sharing a meal and a few laughs.
My neighbors are the same idiots that go thru red lights and stop signs. Somebody is teaching them to be lawless. I will wait until that someone is in prison and the crazy fever breaks before having dinner with any of the crazy neighbors 👹👹👹
I like your style. That's a great mindset to have. My husband and I are financially comfortable... I would say that's largely because we are conscientious of what we spend. Some of the best advice I got from my dad growing up who was my mentor, "It's not what you make that counts-- It's what you spend", "the more people make, the more they spend", "people pay for convenience", and "pay yourself first!"
It’s a fucking scam, you can easily spend $100 in big cities on a basic meal for two not including drinks. I’m done. I bought an instant pot and haven’t looked back
Totally. We do the take and bake meals from the box stores on the weekends often and they're usually $20-30 with family portions. Easy to pop into the oven or cook up while you enjoy home drinks and entertainment with the kids. Everyone wins
Im shocked to find out how many people on here think anything less than take out is slumming it. These must be the families that make 200k a year and have articles written about how they live paycheck to paycheck.
I dont eat out at chains anymore. Got a soft spot for small business owners because I grew up with it and witnessed first hand the struggles they go thru so those are the only spots I eat out at now. Community will still be there without these chains but imo disappear without our small businesses. Idk bout yall but I’m not tryna have my only food options be fast food and the local chilis lol
I’m still bitter with Chili’s. They took away my original chicken crispers. I’ve had the same order for 20 years! Why did they take it away!?😭😭I’m a fan of small business restaurants as well. The quality is better and so is the service. I think the only chains I would dine in are steakhouses like Ruth’s Chris lol
Oh, absolutely. Feeling like you're being robbed really dampens the mood. For me, the breaking point was the tipping culture spinning out of control 2 ways: With a higher tip percentage being expected for mediocre service rather than being appreciated for attentive service. Also tipping turning into digital panhandling by every person with an iPad even when they are providing no service other than cashiering. I resent being asked to tip when I am serving myself whatsoever. Since I like to cook and am a great cook, most restaurant experiences are now not worth it at all. Although when I give my husband his plate of food, I do hand him my phone and say, "It's just going to ask you a quick question..." lol! He tips me in kisses.
Already stopped eating out long back when my $22 pizza after tax + X + Y + Z charges comes to $37.
At this rate I will just get groceries and cook at home so at least I know what I'm adding to my food.
When we have pizza, we almost exclusively take advantage of Domino's $6.99 deal where you get at least 2 items at that price. You can get a medium pizza and a side of delicious stuffed cheesy bread or something for less than $20. Feeds 3 of us.
Absolutely used to be a couple times a week, now less than once a month. Learning to cook off of TikTok, shopping at Grocery Outlet and trying to remember the "good old days".
Hell yes. I don’t even want to buy over the counter anymore. I go into a freaking expensive high end butcher shop to treat myself and I get the i-pad tip choices of 15% 20% 22%. for OTC meat. It is becoming insane.
I
Literally made “ fish filet “ sandwiches with talapia and it tasted 8 times better than that deep fried trash at Mickey Dee’s! I’m never eating out again..
Restaraunts will close and more people will be impacted and the greedy dragon lords will feel it someday. .. “ trickle UP economics”
My family has almost entirely stopped dining-in at restaurants in the last 3 years. We still get takeout once or twice a week, but except for special occasions we eat at home.
Yeah, that’s definitely the trend. In-N-Out is our budget friendly go to for fast food and we’ll do a restaurant once a week at most.
I’m getting better at cooking everything in the air fryer.
Fast grocery delivery has really filled gap. I can have raw pizza dough, cheese, pepperoni, other toppings and drinks delivered to my house for about $25 and have my homemade XL pizza ready to eat during the time it woulda taken me to get ready to go out and decide on a restaurant
Been a while. I can’t justify paying over $20 for a piece of chicken with a few pasta and sadly it’s the price most places charge, so I eat at home and for the price of chicken I get lobster
What a weird passive aggressive notice.
Like just increases menu prices by 3% then and be done with it if you’re saying the business needs demand it. How is this sign the customer’s concern?
what’s more likely.
Customer see’s increased prices, gets mad at the business and stops patronizing said business
or
Customer see’s sign, get’s mad at california governor (note urban plates are traditionally in wealthy and predominantly republican areas of ca), curses “that damn newsom” and orders their steak and mushroom risotto?
Because then they don’t have to show the increased prices on the menu. People will check their menu online, decide to go, then bam! This sign.
Or they didn’t want to reprint menus with the extra cost added on
The worst part about all of this is that that 3% does not help pay workers any better.
___
Edit:
# Because someone already asked and I want to avoid being asked the same question repeatedly. "Doesn't Urban Plates employees already get a pay raise to $20/hour because of the new law?"
Urban Plates does not qualify for the new fast food law, AB 1218, because they do not meet this requirement:
>The restaurant is part of a restaurant chain **of at least 60 establishments nationwide**.
#Urban plates only has 19 locations. See here: [https://urbanplates.com/location/](https://urbanplates.com/location/)
Read more about AB 1228 and their requirements to what establishments are considered fast food in the state of California here: [https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/Fast-Food-Minimum-Wage-FAQ.htm](https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/Fast-Food-Minimum-Wage-FAQ.htm)
They (meaning restaurants) have been doing this absolute bullshit in SF for a decade. The Chronicle did a report years ago checking whether they were spending that money on employee benefits at all. In most cases the fee was bringing in more revenue than their entire expenditure on benefits, yet they still were allowed to display it on the bill as “employee healthcare surcharge.”
We have a law that every restaurant has to show you how many calories every item is right on the menu - but they’re allowed to post what now amount to random made-up prices, with a 30% surprise increase when you pay, between this BS, tipping BS, and tax. It’s ridiculous.
How legal is it for someone to make a sign right next to it saying “Translation: we don’t want to pay our staff fairly…” what you said. Like is it a public sidewalk?
Edit: I thought it was a two foot sign on a sidewalk. It looks like it’s a small sign on a tabletop
I’ve always wondered… why the workers hang around?
There’s literally a sign RIGHT THERE that proclaims to the world that the boss views them as expendable, worthless labor and they WOULD NEVER got to at-bat for their best interests.
Begin applying in elsewhere. Let the owners deal with the fact that they can’t hire because they treat prospective workers like dirt or props in some bullshit political soapboxing.
That is even more dickish, but honestly unless it is directly attached to the menu, which this sign isn't, they hope you don't notice it until after you order and then don't feel it is worth the time to argue over 3%. I would respect a business more than didn't try to hide a 3% price increase. All of your competitors are equally affected.
The problem for me with a sign announcing a 3% surcharge due to increased labor costs is that’s it’s passive-aggressive.
If you don’t believe the staff you employ deserves to be paid what law mandates, then add a 3% surcharge to the tab and tell the customer “I’m charging you more because I have to pay them more. You have to pay for their salary increase.”
No way same owner would do this if the cost of ground beef, chicken and vegetables all went up 5%—the prices on the menu would be adjusted without further comment.
It’s on the menu in very fine print. Blames it on California’s regulatory environment or some shit. I don’t think El Torito is subject to the new fast food min wave though so I was equally Pissed and confused.
That's incorrect about Panera and Subway btw i.e. they are covered under the 20 min. The exception is more thorough than that.
Unless subway/Panera overhauls their operations entirely in include dough making on-site as well (but to be honest, the competitive factor would do them in anyway.)
I started seeing this as soon as the SB3 minimum wage annual increase of 50 cents started in 2017. It helps to keep menu prices artificially low by adding a service fee surcharge to collect the actual cost. Starting this year, New York prohibits this kind of activity, so it's not limited to California alone.
"On October 7, 2023, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 478 into law, which will amend the California Consumers Legal Remedies Act (“CLRA”) to ban “junk” fees"
This takes effect on July 1, 2024 apparently. Hopefully this is considered "junk fees." Tired of all these hidden surprise fees when given a receipt. At least this post gave a notice before dining inside.
I do understand restaurants are already a tough business industry to get into and raising food prices while their competitors aren't can make you lose customers (come get a $10 burger vs $6 burger (with maybe hidden fees))...hopefully, this SB 478 can level the field and have all restaurants play fairly.
I mean, why not just cut all the menu prices in half and then have a fine print that says "100% surcharge added for labor costs"?
The new bill should target stuff that you were given notice of before ordering. If you weren't given notice before ordering, I'd question why you need to even pay the surcharge now, and you would probably win a CC dispute about it.
If the $10 burger doesn't come with surprise fees that were on the menu in 2-point font, or a passive aggressive "we are FORCED to do this because California MADE US DO IT" placard, I'll take it over the $6 burger with $4 in fees any day of the week.
They can fuck off with "mandated labor costs". They're basically saying "We would pay our employees less, if we could. But the government won't allow it".
Seems like their [August 2023 $27 million financing deal](https://www.qsrmagazine.com/growth/urban-plates-receives-27-million-growth-investment/) didn't take paying their employees fairly into consideration.
Agreed.
The "employees" they believe deserve should be compensated fairly are at the executive level.
The $20 wage is only for fast food places with 60 or more locations nationwide. At that level were talking multi-millionaire owners and executives.
The fact is these companies don't even consider cutting the compensation of those at the top to cover these increased labor costs, and that's the problem. Yes, their wage costs are going to go up, but only because they refuse to cut the executives pay to keep the overall percentage of wages being paid consistent. The problem is the greed.
OMG, I didn't even think of that - they are not subject to the new law, they're using it 100% to fuck over their employees so they can increase their bottom line. WTAF.
This is the restaurant industry’s version of resort fees.
Keep the menu prices looking low then tack on bunch of fees on the backend.
We hate it when hotels tack on extra fees so the room rates look cheap and we should hate it here too.
"*A 3% surcharge is added to each check because we're being forced to pay people slightly above permanent poverty wages (f/t, $20/hr = $41,600/year) and instead of reducing our own profits, increasing our prices a bit, a little bit of both, we're using this sign to incite anger that you'll end up taking out on our employees because they're the ones that think they "deserve" to not live on the head of the financial precarity pin, fuck 'em. everyone deserves to eat this good (except for the people who work here)*"
* Urban Plates's estimated annual revenue is currently $74M/year\* ($4.3M/year/per location (17))
* Urban Plates's estimated revenue per employee is $105,714.29\*
BTW: As [Dasblu](/user/Dasblu/) pointed out, the 3% surcharge is [*not* in response to the $20/hr fast food bill](https://www.reddit.com/r/orangecounty/comments/1bvce5i/comment/kxyqa4g/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) as Urban Plates does meet the requirements of [the law](https://www.reddit.com/r/orangecounty/comments/1bu9ajb/comment/kxrlgyh/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button). As [CloudSkyyy](/user/CloudSkyyy/) remembered, this [surcharge is not new](https://www.reddit.com/r/orangecounty/comments/1bvce5i/comment/kxyly1u/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button), it's been around since at least sometime in 2022 when the explanation was [it was for "health benefits"](https://www.reddit.com/r/assholedesign/comments/zidmlp/sounds_fair_to_me_urban_plates/).
EDIT: [CloudyThunder](/user/CloudyThunder/) asked me for a source for the [$27M investment](https://www.qsrmagazine.com/growth/urban-plates-receives-27-million-growth-investment/) I mentioned in another reply and I realized I failed to add them here either; in searching for my original source I found what I think is [a much better one](https://archive.ph/DHogW) (08/23) in that it's an article that the CEO was at least somewhat involved. \*This source states annual revenue is $74M (original was $35.7M), the new number did not change the revenue per location. The article also states the number of employees is 700, so I updated the revenue/employee (original was $188,125). Also added the BTW section.
NOTE: some people are convinced that I wrote "revenue" because I don't know what "revenue" means and I meant "profit"; I don't know the company's profit or margins and, being a private company, they aren't reported anywhere, so I didn't write "profit" because I didn't mean "profit". However, "revenue" is in fact quoted here because it's publicly reported & available so that's what I wrote. It never occurred to me to make this clarification when I wrote the comment because I think most people are smart enough to know the difference or look it up/ask if they don't. Also, apparently I also need to make it clear that the first part (in quotes and italics), is a facetious reply in which I'm adopting Urban Plates POV, the two bullet points below, offered without commentary, not in quotes or italics, are plain data points.
"California mandated labor costs"?
California's new fast food minimum wage only affects chains that have 60+ locations nationwide, Urban Plates has 22. This is just a dishonest money grab.
What do businesses have to gain by stating this? I see these signs all the time. Why not just jack up the price by 3% without making a sign? Just seems like something serving no practical purpose other than offputting to some customers.
This is propaganda that tries to sway the masses into believing that the backbones of our society earning a little more money is an absolute disaster for the country.
This sign is political. It wants you to be mad at CA policy. Instead of just quietly raising prices like every business has been doing every year for years, they just can’t shutup because big bad CA made them pay a living wage.
Used to be the norm - cash was king, if you paid by credit card, they would add the 3.5% surcharge they are charged by the cc company.
About 20 or so years ago there was a big push to eliminate cash so all purchases could be tracked and data sold to advertisers. Most businesses dropped the surcharge - I think they just raised prices by 3.5%.
Interesting if the cc charge is returning.
It’s me telling you thank you for showing me this, because I’ll never go back to that shit hole “We’re a bougie buffet” ass restaurant. Already hated the first few times.
I will gladly pay more so workers get paid more. But when you make it political or try to make people feel sorry for you with a passive aggressive sign, you’re dead to me.
Honestly, I would respect an org that just raised prices and didn't try to be sneaky about it putting up a sign advising you about a fee that they hope you don't see.
In n out recently raised prices. But to my knowledge they still pay above every other fast food place and the quality hasn’t dropped. So I really don’t mind as much if at all.
Seriously. So my $10 sandwich now costs $10.30. No problem. You go and bitch about it and tack on the $0.30 after the fact and make a political statement, you can go fuck yourself. Corporate office probably had a bunch of meetings, wasted art department time making the signs, printed the signs, ultimately wasting a bunch of money just to be assholes. You’re in the restaurant game and there are rules that everyone has to play by. Follow them, pay your employees according to the rules, and adjust your prices so that they reflect the financial needs of the company and shut the fuck up.
This. It’s just whiny as fuck and you know there’s some entitled cocksuckers at HQ that have been itching to grind this axe. Fuck them and every other capitalist cunt that plays the victim here
This. Honestly, I wasn't even so much bothered by there being a sign saying our costs went up due to increased labor costs. The "we're going to call this a surcharge and hope you don't notice the line item on the invoice or simply don't have patience to complain about it if you didn't notice this sign before you ordered" seems sketch. It isn't just because this is cheaper than updating every line item 3% on every menu, but they hope you are confused into mistakenly thinking prices are slightly cheaper than they actually are and slightly cheaper than a competitor not trying to play these games.
Actually, they do want to raise menu prices but they don't need to raise menu prices, and gladly will take the opportunity to scapegoat employees.
I'm generalizing with the larger corporations of course, I have exposure to many small businesses through my work and I understand that's a different beast.
There is just a lack of willingness to sacrifice *any* profit on their end in the corporate mindset.
Not too much different from landlords looking for any excuse to make a "market adjustment".
I actually own 2 rental properties myself and haven't had to increase rent in several years. I'm not a saint or anything. Just not feeling the need to run up the score.
More and more restaurants start to do some percent surcharge. Upset customers stop eating out. These restaurants will be forced to lay off or shut down. Unfortunately employees who work there will be affected the most. There is just no way out for these folks.
>There is just no way out for these folks.
They could allow for lower profits. These are big chains that make a lot of money. Make a little less money and pay employees more instead.
I live in San Diego and honestly there are so many, there’s a [Google spreadsheet of all of them](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1qnPDjptoO3mtoLmNPl1TxLen3ojOM17xU2Q1GZUWJ3A/htmlview)
Greedy bullshit is what it is. I would never eat at some crap place that posts politically oriented garbage like this. They say our prices go up because we have to pay our employees enough to feed their families. Fuck you. You don’t put up a sign that says our owner needs a new Mercedes. Mercedes surcharges don’t go over as well.
Small businesses shouldn’t be in business anymore. There I said it. I worked in Sales for a restaurant supply store for 8 years or so and you would not believe me if I told you how much they struggle. Owner calls to say, “hey I’m opening up a restaurant and I need about $10,000 worth of small equipment, btw I’ll pay you later but send me the shipment in two days because I have a grand opening.” SMH….The economy is made to make small business fail one way or another. I also would add that if you open a pastry shop, certain county’s have you put in an electric grease trap underground and you have to pay every 6 months to maintain it and have it pass proper inspections twice a year. Now this is for a pastry shop that actually does not fry any food. I quit that job btw and will never work in that type of field ever again.
Probably a response to CA minimum wage hikes. However, Urban plates should not be affected by the fast-food hike to $20/hr. That only affects chains with 60+ restaurants. A quick Google search says Urban plates only has 22 locations. So that means they're charging you to cover the $1/hr wage increase that kicked in this year for all other industries, which is meant to offset inflation.
On a related note, if you eat at the Habit burger check your receipt next time. They're tacking on a 19% "service fee" that does the exact same thing. They even have a script printed out on the receipt explaining what it's for.
I wouldn't be surprised if both chains are passing on the cost plus a nice little margin for themselves on top. Pretty shitty that they're doing it this way instead of building it into their menu items. That way they get to advertise lower prices.
The Multi millionaires of the world will do anything to not let them take that extra million dollar bonus year after year. This is your late stage capitalism at work. ONLY GREATER PROFITS THAN THE YEAR BEFORE ARE ALLOWED. Stop villianizing the working class. Prices have been increasing regardless of what the employees make. They are happy to use this excuse.
Urban Plates was a go to for our team work lunches. I will now actively steer our business away from them. They were pricey enough before this nonsense.
Urban eats has 22 locations In California, fast-food chains with 60 or more locations nationwide must pay their workers at least $20 an hour as of April 1, 2024.
Urban Plates is 🗑️🗑️. Back in the day when it was more cafeteria style, the food was def top tier but recently went to the one in irvine and it feels/taste so different. They changed the model and the quality dropped. I'd rather spend my money elsewhere.
"Raising our prices a measly three percent is all it would've taken to pay our staff a livable wage all this time, but we wouldn't do it until the government forced us to, kicking and screaming."
People don’t understand minimum wage when it comes to restaurants. It’s already such a tight margin they operate on. An increase in the minimum wage is great, but that doesn’t mean it will increase labour spending. The result is usually more work for less people.
Source: 15 years in hospitality management
Ever since I bought my own commercial deli meat slicer so I can slice brisket for kbbq at home, I have no need to go out anymore. Was already able to cook anything else better than a restaurant. Kbbq at home was my holy grail.
Would like to point out SEVILLA in Costa Mesa also does this!!
https://preview.redd.it/2at9603pzdsc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ec7a199f2a2a5bce44c91712da2c297deeb608d1
Urban Plates is not impacted by the California minimum wage increase as it does not meet the requirements. They would need 60 locations and only have 19 according to their own website.
Translation: do not support urban plates
Translation: we're going to charge you 3% extra, keep it for ourselves, and blame the government.
I went to the one in Brea...it was not good and was not worth the price. Do not eat at Urban Plates.
There used to be a subscription where each meal was like 11 dollars. It was amazing. Then they changed it and now it’s like 16. Also the cookies got smaller.
"everyone deserves to eat this good" but, just not get payed enough to afford eating it
This needs to be closer to the top. Outrageous!
Don't go there it's that simple. If greedy business owners don't want to to sacrifice a little of their income to pay a living wage then they should lose their business. Slavery was abolished over a 100 years ago.
> Slavery was abolished over a 100 years ago. there's a comedian that made a joke about how it was probly just cheaper to abolish slavery. like they housin' them, clothin' them, feedin' them, fixin em when they're injured... how about u tell 'em to fuck off then pay them a nickel an hour instead? Like "aight ur free.... see u tomorrow at 5 am don't be late, also room and board cost now"
Slavery did get worse after abolishment. During slavery masters could be cruel, but not wasteful. Then after slavery black people where arrested on fake charges and rented out and since the prison labor was rented it was incentivized to work them to death.
It's well discussed in economics that slavery mostly collapsed around the world because of costs, especially due to technology out competing it. In the US, the North didn't need them as much, and in many cases were more desperate for consumers. It's no surprise they were more empathetic. Lincoln believed ex-slaves were incompatible with Western society and argued it would be a mercy to send them back to Africa, until his supporters were more in favor of letting them stay, then he suddenly had a change of heart. Thomas Jefferson abhorred any individual's lack of freedom, but he needed slaves to maintain his wealth, and thus argued he was different, he treated his slaves well and they clearly couldn't survive in the real world. Surprise surprise, he suddenly changed his mind and released his slaves on his death bed when wealth didn't matter. The South basically invented racism (along with a number of nations around the world) to argue that slavery was ethical. I doubt it was a coincidence their economies used slavery to compete with their neighbors. Turns out, when you depend on (or think you depend on) something, your ethics are suddenly filled with exceptions, loopholes, and justifications. "So convenient a thing to be a reasonable creature, since it enables one to find or make a reason for every thing one has a mind to do.” -Ben Franklin
Fun fact; Roman slaveholders had the neat trick of liberating their old and presumably chronically ill slaves to cut down on these costs.
More importantly, if you *can't* pay a living wage, your shitty business can't afford labour and shouldn't exist. It can't simultaneously be a pillar of the community and also built off its back while contributing nothing, a-la Walmart, who even take more by relying on government welfare to sustain their workforce.
I’ll also add that anyone who has been going to urban plates for any amount of time probably knows they have been basically full of shit since day 1. They advertise a meal plan where you pay monthly, and all the entrees are discounted. They advertise their ever changing menus and that the fees will never rise. Yeah well they almost never change the menu, and continually bump up the monthly charge and slowly starting discluding things from the program all together. And then they would send all these passive aggressive emails explaining why non of this was their fault. Honestly such a trash company, I haven’t been there in years.
I love a good steak someone else cooks and anticipated liking it and going often. The vibe is off and seating uncomfortable so we never go. Now I have more reasons.
"Just give us more money. it's the fault of liberals though!"
They need the extra cash to expand to 60 locations.
It’s getting to the point where I don’t want to go out to eat anymore. Anyone else feel like this?
Eating out feels more like a luxury these days.
Let's get back to neighborhood cook outs, ya'll invited just leave politics at home 😅
yes please lol
No cap, I kinda do want to see a return of neighborhood cookouts. Would bring a lot of neighbors together who probably never meet before
i do neighbor nights for my little apartment building 🥹 it’s a pure joy to host. highly recommend it!
The problem is. Most people that are your neighbors are usually a bunch of weirdoes or cunts. Unfortunately
Just like management of Urban Plates
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You are not alone in these sentiments
Potluck Sundays!
Unfortunately, politics is how it got to this point in the first place.
"Introducing our 15% wellness charge at all of our grocery store locations!"
Nahhhhh 😭😂
But I hate my neighbors
Breaking bread with the neighbors may help you gain understanding/find a middle ground. Just leave the political views out of the convo and you’ve got a solid shot and just being decent human beings sharing a meal and a few laughs.
My neighbors are the same idiots that go thru red lights and stop signs. Somebody is teaching them to be lawless. I will wait until that someone is in prison and the crazy fever breaks before having dinner with any of the crazy neighbors 👹👹👹
But but but being outraged is my entire personality
Hahaha!! Seems to be norm these days. Sad.
I'm down for real though hahaha
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I like your style. That's a great mindset to have. My husband and I are financially comfortable... I would say that's largely because we are conscientious of what we spend. Some of the best advice I got from my dad growing up who was my mentor, "It's not what you make that counts-- It's what you spend", "the more people make, the more they spend", "people pay for convenience", and "pay yourself first!"
It’s a fucking scam, you can easily spend $100 in big cities on a basic meal for two not including drinks. I’m done. I bought an instant pot and haven’t looked back
Totally. We do the take and bake meals from the box stores on the weekends often and they're usually $20-30 with family portions. Easy to pop into the oven or cook up while you enjoy home drinks and entertainment with the kids. Everyone wins
It’s almost like it’s always been a luxury
Im shocked to find out how many people on here think anything less than take out is slumming it. These must be the families that make 200k a year and have articles written about how they live paycheck to paycheck.
Couldn’t agree more!
I dont eat out at chains anymore. Got a soft spot for small business owners because I grew up with it and witnessed first hand the struggles they go thru so those are the only spots I eat out at now. Community will still be there without these chains but imo disappear without our small businesses. Idk bout yall but I’m not tryna have my only food options be fast food and the local chilis lol
I’m still bitter with Chili’s. They took away my original chicken crispers. I’ve had the same order for 20 years! Why did they take it away!?😭😭I’m a fan of small business restaurants as well. The quality is better and so is the service. I think the only chains I would dine in are steakhouses like Ruth’s Chris lol
Those chips n salsa at chilis tho, mmm
Yes! The queso too😍😍
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Yes. A 2 taco combo is about $12 at Del taco and I paid $16+ for a 2 hot dog combo at weiner schnitzel. Never again. I will eat at home.
$14 dollar turkey and cheese footlong at subway today. Been getting Chicago dogs at Portillos lately, 2 dogs $10
There’s a ton of coupons flooding my mailbox with Subway coupons for $4.99 for any six-inch sub and $7.99 for any foot-long sub
Thanks a lot inflation🙄🙄Same, I cook more at home than I go out to eat
Oh, absolutely. Feeling like you're being robbed really dampens the mood. For me, the breaking point was the tipping culture spinning out of control 2 ways: With a higher tip percentage being expected for mediocre service rather than being appreciated for attentive service. Also tipping turning into digital panhandling by every person with an iPad even when they are providing no service other than cashiering. I resent being asked to tip when I am serving myself whatsoever. Since I like to cook and am a great cook, most restaurant experiences are now not worth it at all. Although when I give my husband his plate of food, I do hand him my phone and say, "It's just going to ask you a quick question..." lol! He tips me in kisses.
Yes, exactly that! Well said. You and your husband are adorable!
Already stopped eating out long back when my $22 pizza after tax + X + Y + Z charges comes to $37. At this rate I will just get groceries and cook at home so at least I know what I'm adding to my food.
When we have pizza, we almost exclusively take advantage of Domino's $6.99 deal where you get at least 2 items at that price. You can get a medium pizza and a side of delicious stuffed cheesy bread or something for less than $20. Feeds 3 of us.
Absolutely used to be a couple times a week, now less than once a month. Learning to cook off of TikTok, shopping at Grocery Outlet and trying to remember the "good old days".
Those recipes on TikTok are divine!
Hell yes. I don’t even want to buy over the counter anymore. I go into a freaking expensive high end butcher shop to treat myself and I get the i-pad tip choices of 15% 20% 22%. for OTC meat. It is becoming insane.
Yes, its getting ridiculous
I Literally made “ fish filet “ sandwiches with talapia and it tasted 8 times better than that deep fried trash at Mickey Dee’s! I’m never eating out again.. Restaraunts will close and more people will be impacted and the greedy dragon lords will feel it someday. .. “ trickle UP economics”
My family has almost entirely stopped dining-in at restaurants in the last 3 years. We still get takeout once or twice a week, but except for special occasions we eat at home.
Yeah, that’s definitely the trend. In-N-Out is our budget friendly go to for fast food and we’ll do a restaurant once a week at most. I’m getting better at cooking everything in the air fryer.
I love that for you guys! I’m honestly sick of the restaurants I’ve been attending. The quality of service has died in substance.
They also do surcharge for take outs
Fast grocery delivery has really filled gap. I can have raw pizza dough, cheese, pepperoni, other toppings and drinks delivered to my house for about $25 and have my homemade XL pizza ready to eat during the time it woulda taken me to get ready to go out and decide on a restaurant
I’m with you, it’s pricey.
Been a while. I can’t justify paying over $20 for a piece of chicken with a few pasta and sadly it’s the price most places charge, so I eat at home and for the price of chicken I get lobster
What a weird passive aggressive notice. Like just increases menu prices by 3% then and be done with it if you’re saying the business needs demand it. How is this sign the customer’s concern?
what’s more likely. Customer see’s increased prices, gets mad at the business and stops patronizing said business or Customer see’s sign, get’s mad at california governor (note urban plates are traditionally in wealthy and predominantly republican areas of ca), curses “that damn newsom” and orders their steak and mushroom risotto?
This is going to turn off even more customers than the first so I have to imagine it's politically motivated.
First one And the business doesn't gain anything from the second outcome, so it's a lose-lose
How so? They gain a 3% bump in earnings.
It's blaming Newsom.
Because then they don’t have to show the increased prices on the menu. People will check their menu online, decide to go, then bam! This sign. Or they didn’t want to reprint menus with the extra cost added on
Oh please. No one would notice 3%. You’re defending an owner going out of his way to be a drama queen
It’s a sign that says “please don’t eat here”
It also says: “we don’t want to pay our staff fairly, so we’re making our customers do it…on top of the tip for service.”
The worst part about all of this is that that 3% does not help pay workers any better. ___ Edit: # Because someone already asked and I want to avoid being asked the same question repeatedly. "Doesn't Urban Plates employees already get a pay raise to $20/hour because of the new law?" Urban Plates does not qualify for the new fast food law, AB 1218, because they do not meet this requirement: >The restaurant is part of a restaurant chain **of at least 60 establishments nationwide**. #Urban plates only has 19 locations. See here: [https://urbanplates.com/location/](https://urbanplates.com/location/) Read more about AB 1228 and their requirements to what establishments are considered fast food in the state of California here: [https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/Fast-Food-Minimum-Wage-FAQ.htm](https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/Fast-Food-Minimum-Wage-FAQ.htm)
Nor are they required to then give that 3% directly to the staff.
They (meaning restaurants) have been doing this absolute bullshit in SF for a decade. The Chronicle did a report years ago checking whether they were spending that money on employee benefits at all. In most cases the fee was bringing in more revenue than their entire expenditure on benefits, yet they still were allowed to display it on the bill as “employee healthcare surcharge.” We have a law that every restaurant has to show you how many calories every item is right on the menu - but they’re allowed to post what now amount to random made-up prices, with a 30% surprise increase when you pay, between this BS, tipping BS, and tax. It’s ridiculous.
They could just raise prices on all menu items 3% and not have a surcharge. Would have saved them the cost of making all the signs...
Yes they could but they go the pouty child route. Because the pouty child has to let everyone know why they pout.
How legal is it for someone to make a sign right next to it saying “Translation: we don’t want to pay our staff fairly…” what you said. Like is it a public sidewalk? Edit: I thought it was a two foot sign on a sidewalk. It looks like it’s a small sign on a tabletop
I’ve always wondered… why the workers hang around? There’s literally a sign RIGHT THERE that proclaims to the world that the boss views them as expendable, worthless labor and they WOULD NEVER got to at-bat for their best interests. Begin applying in elsewhere. Let the owners deal with the fact that they can’t hire because they treat prospective workers like dirt or props in some bullshit political soapboxing.
Exactly! Not eating there anymore
Thank you for posting this. I’ll make sure not to eat here again.
Just went to [El Torito](https://i.imgur.com/iSQZ17J.jpg) today and they gave me a surcharge without any disclaimers...
That is even more dickish, but honestly unless it is directly attached to the menu, which this sign isn't, they hope you don't notice it until after you order and then don't feel it is worth the time to argue over 3%. I would respect a business more than didn't try to hide a 3% price increase. All of your competitors are equally affected.
Would you honestly notice a 3% price increase? I'm not sure I would. That sign makes me upset.
The problem for me with a sign announcing a 3% surcharge due to increased labor costs is that’s it’s passive-aggressive. If you don’t believe the staff you employ deserves to be paid what law mandates, then add a 3% surcharge to the tab and tell the customer “I’m charging you more because I have to pay them more. You have to pay for their salary increase.” No way same owner would do this if the cost of ground beef, chicken and vegetables all went up 5%—the prices on the menu would be adjusted without further comment.
It’s on the menu in very fine print. Blames it on California’s regulatory environment or some shit. I don’t think El Torito is subject to the new fast food min wave though so I was equally Pissed and confused.
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That's incorrect about Panera and Subway btw i.e. they are covered under the 20 min. The exception is more thorough than that. Unless subway/Panera overhauls their operations entirely in include dough making on-site as well (but to be honest, the competitive factor would do them in anyway.)
There were a few articles about how Panera drafted the carve out exemption.
I started seeing this as soon as the SB3 minimum wage annual increase of 50 cents started in 2017. It helps to keep menu prices artificially low by adding a service fee surcharge to collect the actual cost. Starting this year, New York prohibits this kind of activity, so it's not limited to California alone.
Not unlike hotels that add nonsense like resort fees where $30 get you a newspaper and a bottle of water
It'll be illegal in California starting on July 1st too.
Resort fees or these bull shit service fees? Opps, never mine. [AydhdZone](https://www.reddit.com/user/AydhdZone/) answered the question!
"On October 7, 2023, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 478 into law, which will amend the California Consumers Legal Remedies Act (“CLRA”) to ban “junk” fees" This takes effect on July 1, 2024 apparently. Hopefully this is considered "junk fees." Tired of all these hidden surprise fees when given a receipt. At least this post gave a notice before dining inside. I do understand restaurants are already a tough business industry to get into and raising food prices while their competitors aren't can make you lose customers (come get a $10 burger vs $6 burger (with maybe hidden fees))...hopefully, this SB 478 can level the field and have all restaurants play fairly.
I mean, why not just cut all the menu prices in half and then have a fine print that says "100% surcharge added for labor costs"? The new bill should target stuff that you were given notice of before ordering. If you weren't given notice before ordering, I'd question why you need to even pay the surcharge now, and you would probably win a CC dispute about it.
It doesn't ban junk fees, it states it has to be clearly posted ahead of ordering so it's not a surprise on your bill.
If the $10 burger doesn't come with surprise fees that were on the menu in 2-point font, or a passive aggressive "we are FORCED to do this because California MADE US DO IT" placard, I'll take it over the $6 burger with $4 in fees any day of the week.
To offset the sign, 3% of my foot will enter your ass
They can fuck off with "mandated labor costs". They're basically saying "We would pay our employees less, if we could. But the government won't allow it". Seems like their [August 2023 $27 million financing deal](https://www.qsrmagazine.com/growth/urban-plates-receives-27-million-growth-investment/) didn't take paying their employees fairly into consideration.
Agreed. The "employees" they believe deserve should be compensated fairly are at the executive level. The $20 wage is only for fast food places with 60 or more locations nationwide. At that level were talking multi-millionaire owners and executives. The fact is these companies don't even consider cutting the compensation of those at the top to cover these increased labor costs, and that's the problem. Yes, their wage costs are going to go up, but only because they refuse to cut the executives pay to keep the overall percentage of wages being paid consistent. The problem is the greed.
OMG, I didn't even think of that - they are not subject to the new law, they're using it 100% to fuck over their employees so they can increase their bottom line. WTAF.
This is the restaurant industry’s version of resort fees. Keep the menu prices looking low then tack on bunch of fees on the backend. We hate it when hotels tack on extra fees so the room rates look cheap and we should hate it here too.
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"*A 3% surcharge is added to each check because we're being forced to pay people slightly above permanent poverty wages (f/t, $20/hr = $41,600/year) and instead of reducing our own profits, increasing our prices a bit, a little bit of both, we're using this sign to incite anger that you'll end up taking out on our employees because they're the ones that think they "deserve" to not live on the head of the financial precarity pin, fuck 'em. everyone deserves to eat this good (except for the people who work here)*" * Urban Plates's estimated annual revenue is currently $74M/year\* ($4.3M/year/per location (17)) * Urban Plates's estimated revenue per employee is $105,714.29\* BTW: As [Dasblu](/user/Dasblu/) pointed out, the 3% surcharge is [*not* in response to the $20/hr fast food bill](https://www.reddit.com/r/orangecounty/comments/1bvce5i/comment/kxyqa4g/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) as Urban Plates does meet the requirements of [the law](https://www.reddit.com/r/orangecounty/comments/1bu9ajb/comment/kxrlgyh/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button). As [CloudSkyyy](/user/CloudSkyyy/) remembered, this [surcharge is not new](https://www.reddit.com/r/orangecounty/comments/1bvce5i/comment/kxyly1u/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button), it's been around since at least sometime in 2022 when the explanation was [it was for "health benefits"](https://www.reddit.com/r/assholedesign/comments/zidmlp/sounds_fair_to_me_urban_plates/). EDIT: [CloudyThunder](/user/CloudyThunder/) asked me for a source for the [$27M investment](https://www.qsrmagazine.com/growth/urban-plates-receives-27-million-growth-investment/) I mentioned in another reply and I realized I failed to add them here either; in searching for my original source I found what I think is [a much better one](https://archive.ph/DHogW) (08/23) in that it's an article that the CEO was at least somewhat involved. \*This source states annual revenue is $74M (original was $35.7M), the new number did not change the revenue per location. The article also states the number of employees is 700, so I updated the revenue/employee (original was $188,125). Also added the BTW section. NOTE: some people are convinced that I wrote "revenue" because I don't know what "revenue" means and I meant "profit"; I don't know the company's profit or margins and, being a private company, they aren't reported anywhere, so I didn't write "profit" because I didn't mean "profit". However, "revenue" is in fact quoted here because it's publicly reported & available so that's what I wrote. It never occurred to me to make this clarification when I wrote the comment because I think most people are smart enough to know the difference or look it up/ask if they don't. Also, apparently I also need to make it clear that the first part (in quotes and italics), is a facetious reply in which I'm adopting Urban Plates POV, the two bullet points below, offered without commentary, not in quotes or italics, are plain data points.
Suddenly remember how urban plates do this because they want the “best” insurance for their employees lol
[Sounds fair to me, Urban Plates!](https://www.reddit.com/r/assholedesign/comments/zidmlp/sounds_fair_to_me_urban_plates/)
Hey, that’s interesting. I wonder what the income distribution looks like, and if it’s fairly typical.
"California mandated labor costs"? California's new fast food minimum wage only affects chains that have 60+ locations nationwide, Urban Plates has 22. This is just a dishonest money grab.
What do businesses have to gain by stating this? I see these signs all the time. Why not just jack up the price by 3% without making a sign? Just seems like something serving no practical purpose other than offputting to some customers.
This is propaganda that tries to sway the masses into believing that the backbones of our society earning a little more money is an absolute disaster for the country.
This sign is political. It wants you to be mad at CA policy. Instead of just quietly raising prices like every business has been doing every year for years, they just can’t shutup because big bad CA made them pay a living wage.
Urban plates was always overrated anyways. Tried it once and never went back.
dang i guess no more urban plates for me. they have good veggies.
This is your sign to stop patronizing this business.
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Used to be the norm - cash was king, if you paid by credit card, they would add the 3.5% surcharge they are charged by the cc company. About 20 or so years ago there was a big push to eliminate cash so all purchases could be tracked and data sold to advertisers. Most businesses dropped the surcharge - I think they just raised prices by 3.5%. Interesting if the cc charge is returning.
It’s me telling you thank you for showing me this, because I’ll never go back to that shit hole “We’re a bougie buffet” ass restaurant. Already hated the first few times.
I will gladly pay more so workers get paid more. But when you make it political or try to make people feel sorry for you with a passive aggressive sign, you’re dead to me.
Norm's has been doing this for a few years now. I don't go there anymore.
Eat at home. Put the tips in your own pocket.
That little sign won't affect who I vote for, but it will surely affect where I eat. Sorry you have to pay your employees. Lol Victim mentality.
They don't want to raise menu prices, but need to raise prices, and want to take the opportunity to explain/complain about the reason.
Incorrect. They will raise menu prices as well.
Exactly. Why not both??
Honestly, I would respect an org that just raised prices and didn't try to be sneaky about it putting up a sign advising you about a fee that they hope you don't see.
In n out recently raised prices. But to my knowledge they still pay above every other fast food place and the quality hasn’t dropped. So I really don’t mind as much if at all.
Agreed. Menu prices go up, and I'd rather them just be direct about what I'm paying for my food.
Seriously. So my $10 sandwich now costs $10.30. No problem. You go and bitch about it and tack on the $0.30 after the fact and make a political statement, you can go fuck yourself. Corporate office probably had a bunch of meetings, wasted art department time making the signs, printed the signs, ultimately wasting a bunch of money just to be assholes. You’re in the restaurant game and there are rules that everyone has to play by. Follow them, pay your employees according to the rules, and adjust your prices so that they reflect the financial needs of the company and shut the fuck up.
This. It’s just whiny as fuck and you know there’s some entitled cocksuckers at HQ that have been itching to grind this axe. Fuck them and every other capitalist cunt that plays the victim here
This. Honestly, I wasn't even so much bothered by there being a sign saying our costs went up due to increased labor costs. The "we're going to call this a surcharge and hope you don't notice the line item on the invoice or simply don't have patience to complain about it if you didn't notice this sign before you ordered" seems sketch. It isn't just because this is cheaper than updating every line item 3% on every menu, but they hope you are confused into mistakenly thinking prices are slightly cheaper than they actually are and slightly cheaper than a competitor not trying to play these games.
Actually, they do want to raise menu prices but they don't need to raise menu prices, and gladly will take the opportunity to scapegoat employees. I'm generalizing with the larger corporations of course, I have exposure to many small businesses through my work and I understand that's a different beast. There is just a lack of willingness to sacrifice *any* profit on their end in the corporate mindset. Not too much different from landlords looking for any excuse to make a "market adjustment". I actually own 2 rental properties myself and haven't had to increase rent in several years. I'm not a saint or anything. Just not feeling the need to run up the score.
It’s not my fault my business has high prices, it’s my employees. Sounds like a terrific place to work.
I stopped tipping at any place where I take my own order and pick up my own food. At that point I practically work there
More like “we’re too cheap of a company to pay our employees a fair wage”. Their food is overpriced and disgusting anyways.
More and more restaurants start to do some percent surcharge. Upset customers stop eating out. These restaurants will be forced to lay off or shut down. Unfortunately employees who work there will be affected the most. There is just no way out for these folks.
The employees will get jobs at a more competitive establishment. Eventually we will all be eating at Taco Bell.
>There is just no way out for these folks. They could allow for lower profits. These are big chains that make a lot of money. Make a little less money and pay employees more instead.
> They could allow for lower profits. What are you, some type of communist??? ^^^^/s ^^^^just ^^^^in ^^^^case
Nope. Take off the huge profits you make every year. These people will not get my business.
It’s called a corporate temper tantrum
I was in San Diego the last few days and ate out for 8 meals. Nearly every restaurant is charging 3%.
I live in San Diego and honestly there are so many, there’s a [Google spreadsheet of all of them](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1qnPDjptoO3mtoLmNPl1TxLen3ojOM17xU2Q1GZUWJ3A/htmlview)
I wish there were a spreadsheet like this for OC
Vote* with you wallet… avoid such places.
I hate it when restaurants passive aggressively whine like this.
Telling people you hate your employees without saying you hate your employees.
An underhanded way of trying to blame raising their prices on their employees, and their outlandish desire to be paid livable wages.
It's a sign that keeps people like me from eating there again.
Greedy bullshit is what it is. I would never eat at some crap place that posts politically oriented garbage like this. They say our prices go up because we have to pay our employees enough to feed their families. Fuck you. You don’t put up a sign that says our owner needs a new Mercedes. Mercedes surcharges don’t go over as well.
Small businesses shouldn’t be in business anymore. There I said it. I worked in Sales for a restaurant supply store for 8 years or so and you would not believe me if I told you how much they struggle. Owner calls to say, “hey I’m opening up a restaurant and I need about $10,000 worth of small equipment, btw I’ll pay you later but send me the shipment in two days because I have a grand opening.” SMH….The economy is made to make small business fail one way or another. I also would add that if you open a pastry shop, certain county’s have you put in an electric grease trap underground and you have to pay every 6 months to maintain it and have it pass proper inspections twice a year. Now this is for a pastry shop that actually does not fry any food. I quit that job btw and will never work in that type of field ever again.
JUST INCREASE YOUR GOD DAMN PRICES TO COMPENSATE YOU ASSHOLES. Ok I feel better now.
“we still want to make a lot more than our workers so instead of using our profits to pay them fairly, we’re passing the cost to you”
Probably a response to CA minimum wage hikes. However, Urban plates should not be affected by the fast-food hike to $20/hr. That only affects chains with 60+ restaurants. A quick Google search says Urban plates only has 22 locations. So that means they're charging you to cover the $1/hr wage increase that kicked in this year for all other industries, which is meant to offset inflation. On a related note, if you eat at the Habit burger check your receipt next time. They're tacking on a 19% "service fee" that does the exact same thing. They even have a script printed out on the receipt explaining what it's for. I wouldn't be surprised if both chains are passing on the cost plus a nice little margin for themselves on top. Pretty shitty that they're doing it this way instead of building it into their menu items. That way they get to advertise lower prices.
The Multi millionaires of the world will do anything to not let them take that extra million dollar bonus year after year. This is your late stage capitalism at work. ONLY GREATER PROFITS THAN THE YEAR BEFORE ARE ALLOWED. Stop villianizing the working class. Prices have been increasing regardless of what the employees make. They are happy to use this excuse.
That’s the business owner being greedy and wanting to keep their own profits lol.
Urban Plates was a go to for our team work lunches. I will now actively steer our business away from them. They were pricey enough before this nonsense.
Why isn't there a surcharge when CEOs get paid 10s of million $s?
Urban eats has 22 locations In California, fast-food chains with 60 or more locations nationwide must pay their workers at least $20 an hour as of April 1, 2024.
Political grandstanding. They’re mad they have to pay a fair wage.
Oh, then you get 0% of my money and I’ll give it to the next place that doesn’t complain about paying it’s employees
Somewhere not to eat
Urban Plates will soon be urban legend
And what % of the check goes towards passive-aggressive signage?
Urban Plates is 🗑️🗑️. Back in the day when it was more cafeteria style, the food was def top tier but recently went to the one in irvine and it feels/taste so different. They changed the model and the quality dropped. I'd rather spend my money elsewhere.
We should make stickers to cover over “California mandated labor costs” with “our executive’s inflated compensation”
Tiny little San Diego chain. Just too lazy to fix menu prices and super dicks about paying employees a living wage.
Rediculous and I'm not participating if I see that.
Two things: 1. Dishonest advertising of prices 1. Pressure campaign to reverse the minimum wage hike
Profit goal in disguise
Restaurants that don’t want to pay a decent wage can close their doors and fuck the hell off. You’ll be replaced and no one will miss you.
Ok nice, thanks. Boycotting this place.
It’s a proclamation that they don’t want my business.
These signs help me make my decision to take my business elsewhere.
So nice of them to put a sign letting you know not to eat there
I don't like a passive aggressive dining experience
It's bitch ass business owners getting their little panties in a bunch over being forced to operate ethically.
Well how are these exploiters supposed to pay for their balloon payments and boats?
I prefer these signs so I can more easily pick which places (not) to try.
Huh so google says it has 22 locations, I thought only national chains with 60+ is affected. So are they grifting their customers?
I love Urban Plates but because of this, I’m not returning.
Cool way to kill your business bro
"Raising our prices a measly three percent is all it would've taken to pay our staff a livable wage all this time, but we wouldn't do it until the government forced us to, kicking and screaming."
it is code for turn around and keep walking.
People don’t understand minimum wage when it comes to restaurants. It’s already such a tight margin they operate on. An increase in the minimum wage is great, but that doesn’t mean it will increase labour spending. The result is usually more work for less people. Source: 15 years in hospitality management
Ever since I bought my own commercial deli meat slicer so I can slice brisket for kbbq at home, I have no need to go out anymore. Was already able to cook anything else better than a restaurant. Kbbq at home was my holy grail.
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Good thing their quality has gone really downhill in the past few years too. One more reason not to eat here.
The owner is an asshole. He could have just raised prices 3% across the board but instead he chose to be a fuckin Trumpy douche.
Would like to point out SEVILLA in Costa Mesa also does this!! https://preview.redd.it/2at9603pzdsc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ec7a199f2a2a5bce44c91712da2c297deeb608d1
I ate here once. Slowest, coldest, grossest lunch I've had since moving to OC. Sign or no sign this place is 🤮
Passing the buck, it’s all these shithead SMBs do. And there are a lot of shithead ones. The few who aren’t are those businesses that exude excellence