How important is tipping to a restaurant employee?

In this week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive, Associate Editor Reyna Estrada joins me to discuss tipping.

Estrada is a former restaurant worker herself, having spent years as a server at Steak n Shake (before it went limited service) and then as a Panera Bread employee. She relied on tips the entire time.

We discuss the practice and she discusses how much it meant to get those tips, both at the full-service restaurant and at the fast-food concept. She talks about where she made the most money and whether the tips influenced her service.

In addition, I talk about the Starbucks CEO, restaurants that sold for high multiples and joint employer.