Dining out has likely become more expensive for you and restaurants across the country are adding fees to your check. Joe Monastero, C.O.O. of Texas Restaurant Assn. explains... "Inflation is a little out of control right now...but --- we're not going to reprint the menus. We just need to get by, so for this small amount of time, we're going to add a temporary inflation fee --- and this is the reason for it." Monastero says the key is for the restaurant is to be transparent about the extra charge before diners have ordered...otherwise they may think the business is trying to put one over on them. He has not seen this in Texas, but there are reports from other states of fees from "kitchen appreciation" to "wellness" to "fuel charges" all added on at once. Monastero says his group promotes treating their customers like they are family.
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Monastero is saying he hasn't heard of more than one fee added to any Texas restaurant bill - and that one is covering a higher cost of doing business after the menu was last printed. "If every week it's changing --- it's unprecedented time for our industry that it's that volatile so a lot of restaurants add a small sur charge rather than changing prices." Again, Monastero emphasizes transparency with diners is vital - and the fee should not come as a surprise. There are examples of other states, though, adding multiple fees that do annoy customers when it's time to pay up.
photo: GettyImages
Figuring out the extra fee to put on restaurant bill.Photo: Getty Images