Mon Ami Gabi at Paris Las Vegas (as seen in 2017) is one of three restaurants on the Las Vegas Strip now requesting an optional COVID-19 surcharge. (Image: Eugenio Roig\/Flickr)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThe eateries charging the new fee include El Segundo Sol at Fashion Show Mall, Joe\u2019s Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab at the Forum Shops at Caesars (Palace), and Mon Ami Gabi at Paris Las Vegas, the Las Vegas Review-Journal<\/em> reported.<\/p>\n\u201cTo help offset restrictions on our business resulting from the COVID-19 crisis, a 4% surcharge has been added to all guest checks. If you would like this removed, please let us know,\u201d the online menus inform customers.<\/strong><\/p>\nEl Segundo Sol, located near the Wynn Las Vegas, is a Mexican eatery that typically features between $14 and $21 entrees. Dinner entrees at Mon Ami Gabi, a French bistro, will typically run between $17 and $40.<\/p>\n
Dinner entrees at Joe\u2019s Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab run between about $19 to $80. A large order of Jumbo Alaskan King Crab totals close to $115.<\/p>\n
News of the Joe\u2019s coronavirus surcharge was first reported by Scott Roeben, founder of Vital Vegas<\/em>. \u201cWe want the place to thrive, and we don\u2019t mind helping Joe\u2019s through a rough patch,\u201d Roeben said in an empathetic post.<\/p>\n\u201cTypically, I\u2019d go into rant mode,\u201d Roeben later explained to the Review-Journal <\/em>about the fee. \u201cBecause part of my stock and trade is helping people avoid these annoying fees.<\/p>\nBut as I thought about it more, I\u2019m like, \u2018Yeah, I do support these places. And I tip more now to support the servers.\u2019 So, this is like a tip for the restaurant itself,\u201d Roeben added.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Roeben notes that the other option for these restaurants is to raise prices.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut you know how that is. Once you go up, they don\u2019t often go back. So I\u2019d rather have this tacked on temporarily,\u201d Roeben told the Review-Journal<\/em>.<\/p>\nJoe\u2019s has been a popular place in recent years. In 2019, Joe\u2019s clinched the Number 1 restaurant ranking in Las Vegas on Restaurant Business<\/em> magazine\u2019s list of top grossing independent restaurants. Based on the magazine\u2019s estimates, Joe\u2019s saw over $22 million in sales in 2018.<\/p>\nThe average Joe\u2019s check was $77. Those results earned Joe\u2019s the 18th position on the national ranking.<\/p>\n
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When asked about the COVID-19 surcharge, R.J. Melman, president of Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, the parent company of El Segundo Sol, said it is \u201ca necessary step during a time when unanticipated costs have jeopardized the survival of our business.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cOur industry has been dramatically impacted as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic forced closures. In addition to the extreme restrictions that have been placed on our dining rooms, we are also facing additional costs of doing business — added expenses for carryout and delivery, providing PPE to employees, executing enhanced sanitation practices, and absorbing the greatest increase in food pricing since 1974,\u201d Melman explained to the Review-Journal<\/em>.<\/p>\nSouth Florida, Chicago Also Charge Eatery Coronavirus Fees<\/h2>\n
Elsewhere, the South Florida Sun Sentinel <\/em>recently reported COVID-19 fees \u201care rapidly becoming the new normal, as pandemic-weary restaurants reopen to the public, with surcharges popping up — often to customers\u2019 surprise — on dine-in food checks.\u201d<\/p>\nFor instance, Rack\u2019s Fish House + Oyster Bar in Delray Beach charged diners a \u201cD-Operations\u201d fee, representing 3 percent of the bill, for sanitation supplies, the newspaper reported.<\/p>\n
One Chicago restaurant even added a 26 percent COVID-19 surcharge last month, citing increased costs. It was lowered to 17 percent after many customers were outraged, KABC TV, a Los Angeles-based station reported.<\/p>\n
Other Fees Charged at Southern Nevada Restaurants<\/h2>\n
But COVID-19 is not the only reason eateries choose to add fees to a meal. Eater Las Vegas<\/em> reports an extra fee is getting charged for beef at Tacoman Grille, a Mexican restaurant in nearby Henderson, and at Roberto\u2019s Tacos. Tacoman adds an extra $2 for any beef dish, Eater Las Vegas<\/em> further reveals. Lotus of Siam, which reopened the Thai eatery in Las Vegas’s Commercial Center, even asks for a 3 percent fee to offset worker health-care expenses, the Review-Journal<\/em> said.<\/p>\nSince 2016, JRS Hospitality restaurants have asked for a 4.7 to 4.85 concession and franchise fee on the bill, Eater Las Vegas<\/em> added.\u00a0Last September, guests at Las Vegas casinos found out they had to pay service fees<\/a>, or \u201cvenue\u201d fees, on drinks. Other surcharges that have irritated Las Vegas visitors include \u201cresort fees.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Three noteworthy restaurants on the Las Vegas Strip are now adding an optional four percent surcharge to a diner\u2019s bill due to coronavirus-related costs. The surcharge comes as many casinos reopened on June 4 after months of shuttering, and diners begin to return to the Strip\u2019s diverse restaurant scene. The eateries charging the new fee […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":138530,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Voluntary COVID-19 Fee Now Charged at Few Eateries on Las Vegas Strip<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n