Lately, I’ve spent a great deal of time playing restaurant matchmaker. One of the cool, but unexpected, results of writing this blog is getting to know some of the top restaurant owners in the area. I always encourage them to let me know when they have a job opening, as it seems I have no […]
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The Fine Dining Service Conundrum
Since most of you are not from Kansas City, a bit of background is in order. The most popular show on our local public television station is called Check Please. It is a show that allows three people to talk about their favorite restaurant. Each of the three guests selects a restaurant and all three […]
Is A Service Charge A Gratuity?
 tagged banquets, can a restaurant keep part of my tips, gratuity, is a service charge legal, is a service charge the same as a tip, keeping part of the tip, large psrties, maggianos, mandatory service charge, private parties, restaurant lawsuit, server lawsuit, service charge, service charge in restaurant, stealing tips, Tips, what is a service […]
Why Your Non-Slip Shoes Matter
I had a conversation last night with some former servers about the “serving lifestyle.â€Â  They fondly recalled sleeping until noon and closing down the late night bars.  Those are some of the more glamorous parts of being a server.  The part people don’t often fondly recall is being uninsured and any injury being catastrophic.  If you cannot work, you […]
It Is Time To Act
Yesterday, I took a moment to give thanks to a number of people in the Kansas City restaurant community I am incredibly grateful for. Today, I feel there is an issue in this community that I can no longer ignore. Last week we suffered a tremendous loss as a community when one of our brightest […]
About The Author
David Hayden was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri. He took his first serving job in 1996. Since that time, he has worked for over a dozen different restaurant companies. He has held both hourly and salaried positions at independent and corporate restaurants. He has waited on over 100,000 guests and trained hundreds of servers. He has been named "Best Server in Kansas City" the last three years by the local weekly paper.