‘I’ve stopped going to restaurants that do this’: Travis Barker-backed restaurant criticized for adding service fee to bill to pay cooks
Self-proclaimed foodie influencer Brennan Taylor has less-than-stellar reviews for Crossroads, the restaurant Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker invested in. What seemed to turn the influencer off the most is the service fee added to his bill.
TikToker Taylor (crazy.world014) and his brother, Jake, visited the new Calabasas location. They detail their experience in three videos. The text overlay on their video reads: "Eating At Travis Barker's New Restaurant." The brothers remark on everything from the paper menus, the wait staff, the ambiance, and, of course, the food.
"As you know Jake and I are carnivores, so this doesn’t really sit right with us but let’s jump into this menu,” Brennan says in the first video, referring to the fact that Crossroads is a vegan restaurant. “The one thing I love about vegan spots is that they try so hard to pretend their food is like regular food.”
"If you don’t eat meat, don’t name it meat things,” Jake says in the video.
Menu items include dishes like eggplant short rib, spaghetti carbonara, and lasagna bolognese. The dinner and brunch items tend to be on the pricier side, with cocktails costing about $16-$20 and main dishes costing up to $28. The brothers ended up ordering one lunch special and a sausage pizza with a side of parmesan.
The brothers took issue with the service fee added to their bill.
“So they're adding a 3% charge to every single check so they can give money to the cooks,” Jake says, referencing a charge marked on their bill “boh,” which likely means “back of house.”
"I mean that’s nice for the cooks but for the consumer that kind of annoys me a little bit. ... Like, give them some of your cut. Why should I have to pay extra for them?” Brennan questions.
Their bill total was $63.32, not including tip.
@crazy.world014 Eating At Travis Barker's New Restaurant #eating #restaurant #food ♬ original sound - Crazy World
Service fees are on the rise
According to Vox, service fees have started to increase at restaurants, and although they may be well-intentioned, the service fees can sometimes lead to workers losing out on tips. Also, the fees can be a nuisance to customers, which Brennan’s video illustrated. In September 2022, Americans spent around $87 billion at food and drinking establishments, and the price of food at full-service restaurants rose almost 9% from September 2021-2022.
These service fees can sometimes go toward better pay for restaurant employees or go toward employee health care, Vox reported.
How involved in Crossroads is Barker?
In terms of celebrity-affiliated restaurants, establishments owned by celebrities are nothing new, and lately, stars seem to be enjoying taking part in a side hustle, whether it be the restaurant business, clothing, or beauty products.
According to the Daily Mail, Travis Barker financially backed the opening of the first Crossroads location in 2013.
The extent of his involvement with the Calabasas location is unknown. However, the new Calabasas location is frequented by the Kardashians, the Daily Mail reported. In October 2022, Barker, along with his wife Kourtney Kardashian, attended the opening of the Calabasas restaurant, according to Just Jared. Just Jared also called the new restaurant Barker's, and Kourtney's son even reportedly cut the tape to open it. Barker also designed merch for the Calabasas location, according to an Instagram post shared by the restaurant.
Viewers weigh in
Regardless, because the brothers called it Barker's restaurant, many shared that they think the onus to pay Crossroads workers should fall on the celebrity.
"Shouldn’t he be paying the cooks enough for them not to need a tip?” user Maria (@maria33379934) asked.
"Travis Barker can’t pay his employees and expects the customer to pay his workers?!!!" another top comment reads.
Commenters on Brennan’s video seemed very annoyed by the service charge.
"These costs needs to be built in the price,” user @oci2020 said.
The Daily Dot reached out to Crossroads via email, to Barker's team via email, and to Brennan via Instagram direct message.
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The post ‘I’ve stopped going to restaurants that do this’: Travis Barker-backed restaurant criticized for adding service fee to bill to pay cooks appeared first on The Daily Dot.