Why more D.C. pizzerias have service fees
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Boogy & Peel's owner explains fees. Photo courtesy of Boogy & Peel
When you think of pizza extras, it's probably toppings. Not 3.5% to-go box fees or 10% Initiative 82 fees — just some of the new service charges at D.C. pizzerias that have some diners fuming.
Why it matters: Pizzerias face the same inflated costs and labor increases as other restaurants — but that, coupled with the rise in service fees, is challenging many customers' perceptions of a formerly inexpensive meal.
Catch up quick: Service charges — which are different from tips in that they don't have to go to a server — increased in the pandemic as restaurants leaned on takeout and faced a wave of challenges, many of which persist.
- Another seismic shift came in July when I-82 went into effect, raising the D.C. minimum wage for tipped workers.
What's happening: Tips on pizza pies are out. Automatic fees for takeout are in. And there's not much standardization to the tabs.
- Pizzeria Paradiso eliminated gratuities at all four locations after 31 years and now charges 20% for dine-in and 12% to-go.
- At Sicilian pizza garden Sonny's in Park View, there's a 20% service charge for both dine-in and takeout.
Diners frustrated by the unpredictability and the dollar signs are sharing service fee-filled receipts on social media and neighborhood blogs like PoPville.
- Take this bill from local chainlet Pete's Apizza, where the sharer contested an "order processing fee" ($0.99), a "to-go package fee" (3.5%) and a "to-go hospitality fee" (10%) on an order of XL pizzas. Heads (and PoPville's comments) exploded.
What they're saying: Sonny's owner Max Zuckerman says he was torn about the pandemic-era fees, but ultimately kept them to pay higher wages for front and back-of-house staff (and he'll refund the charge if someone complains).
- "I get the frustration, but for better or worse, that's the system we're in," says Zuckerman. "We can raise our prices. Or do a service fee. But there's a finite amount of money being distributed."
Threat level: At casual restaurants where these service fees might add only a few bucks to the bill, backlash – Shut it down! Never going! — can seem like overreacting.
Zoom in: 2Amys pizzeria and wine bar chose to raise menu prices, baking service into the Neapolitan pies that average around $21 each.
- "Personally, I hate dealing with tips," says co-owner Peter Pastan, who eliminated them in 2020 after nearly two decades. "It's been a traditional way for restaurants to scam their customers, their employees, and not have any responsibility."
- Pastan says he never considered service fees. "It's like buying an airplane ticket and then you have to pay more to check a bag and select a seat. People hate that. And it's the same in restaurants."
The intrigue: Popular pizzeria Boogy & Peel, which opened in Dupont Circle last year with an 18% dine-in and 12% to-go fee, is getting ahead of the conversation with its own service fee Q&A on social media. Owner Rachael Jennings says she's frequently asked why she doesn't raise menu prices.
- "I would love to, but there's a sticker shock up front. Especially with pizza, which people think of as fast and cheap," says Jennings. The pies — heaped with ingredients like a Big Mac-inspired pizza — average around $18, max $25. "We're conditioned for that little extra on the end, not going in and looking at a menu with higher prices."
- Jennings, a former Rose's Luxury sous-chef, says she implemented service charges for higher wages because she was worried customers wouldn't tip at her counter-order spot, despite staff running homemade stracciatella cheese platters and negronis to tables.
The bottom line: "Food is expensive, labor is high, the margins are so thin," says Jennings. "I hope more people come to understand that. It isn't a greed thing. It's a we-need-to-survive kind of thing."