Vancouver Island restaurant plans to do away with tipping servers in favour of paying staff a living wage

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A newcomer to the restaurant scene wants to turn the industry upside down by doing away with tipping likely the first in Canada to do so.

When David Jones opens Smoke and Water in June at the Pacific Shores Resort in Parksville, customers will never have to crunch the numbers to determine what 10, 15 or 20 per cent of their bill is to leave a gratuity.

Tipping is a broken business model, said Jones, an admitted neophyte in the hospitality industry.

Instead of tipping, Jones has increased menu prices by about 18 per cent and intends to pay his staff a living wage, which is a business model accepted around the world in places such as Japan, New Zealand, Australia and parts of Europe.

That means the 155-seat restaurant will pay servers between $20 and $24 an hour and cooks $16 to $18 an hour.

At Smoke and Water named after its fire-inspired menu of barbecue and wood-fired pizza and its proximity to the ocean Jones will also put aside a small percentage of gross receipts to pay for medical and dental coverage for his 48 staff.

When you take away tipping, you find you get more seasoned servers and youre able to increase the quality of personnel you get in the back of house, Jones said.

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Vancouver Island restaurant plans to do away with tipping servers in favour of paying staff a living wage