Some restaurants in major cities like Chicago have begun imposing minimum purchase requirements on their patrons, or charging cancelation fees for reservations.
Mandatory minimums are gradually becoming the norm in some areas, especially at higher-end restaurants. Steak 48, a steakhouse in Chicago, now starts the bill with a $100 charge per person. If a customer or table orders less than $100 worth of food per person, they get charged the full amount regardless.
“It’s a shame,” said Howard Tolsky, a Chicago-area resident who went to book a dinner online at Steak 48 for himself, his wife, and his mother-in-law, only to notice the new charge, which deterred him from making a reservation.
“I figured, well, we’re not going to spend $300. We might spend $250. But I don’t want to spend $300 on a meal that costs $250.”...<<<Read More>>>...
