I was in Chicago for the National Restaurant Association show recently. We went out and we noticed on our bill a 3% surcharge tax. We asked the waiter about it. He replied that it was put into effect during covid to cover for loss revenues. covid is long gone now but some restaurants are still charging customers. We asked to have it removed and he did. Just be aware especially if you have a big party.
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The fact that he removed it makes me think that’s not a legitimate tax, just a surcharge the restaurant tacked into your bill. If it’s a tax being collected by a government agency, why would the restaurant eat it? You can’t refuse to pay sales tax here in Texas.
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Agreed, it’s just an add on fee they are trying to pass off as a tax, when it’s not. Locally I am seeing more and higher “packaging” fees when you get take out.
The packaging fee seems legit… as long as they also give me a discount for not dirtying their plates and silverware. 
Here’s an article on the Chicago surcharges: Frustrations Mount Over Restaurant Surcharges — But Owners Say Fees Are Necessary For Survival
I don’t completely understand tacking on a 3% fee, instead of just raising your prices 3%.
I would imagine less pushback for increasing the price of a $20 plate to $20.60, than tacking a surcharge on the bill.
For most dishes that’s a rounding error. People nowadays won’t stop to pick up a dime off the street, are they going to complain about a $2.99 drink going to $3.08?
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Yeah, good job asking them to take it off. We need to start pushing back on all the add on fees, tips where they aren’t warranted, etc. Too many consumers now are ok with paying out the rear end for goods and services that have no business being so expensive.
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You are welcome. Maybe a Chicago Coog can chime in if they have seen this 3% surcharge/tax at other Chicago restaurants. What we hear vs what we see is often different.
Reprinting menus ain’t cheap
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A place i like does that in LA. It isn’t mandatory. You can ask to remove but i over heard the waiter tell the customer “if you don’t want to help pay for our health care”
I thought California had passed a bill to remove it but it just requires it to be clear on the bill.
“As of July 1, 2024, California restaurants will be prohibited from charging surcharges or service fees unless the amount is clearly stated in the listed prices. This is due to Senate Bill 478, which was passed to help restaurants offset rising costs”
Tell them that their boss is supposed to pay for their healthcare.
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Reminds me of buying a car back in 2022. Went to a dealer, understanding that MSRP was now “the price”, no negotiating was happening at that time. We found the car we wanted at the right price, sat down with the salesperson to get the paperwork together.
She said, ok let me go talk to my GM. We thought we were about to start a negotiation. Salesperson came back from the GM with a price 20% higher than MSRP!
“What’s that?!?”
“Oh, there’s a 20% surcharge on new cars. Every dealer is charging that now.” 
We left immediately and found the car we wanted with no surcharge at another dealer.
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If it was a tax, I don’t think they would be able to remove it from your bill, like others pointed out.
Yea, I don’t get that either.
I believe there is a certain politician who has been pushing back on these “junk” fees. Though we commonly see them with like our cell phone or electric bill. A bunch of fees that aren’t mandated by any law but push up the real cost of the service.
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Remember friends, the customer is always right. This 3% surcharge/tax that I pointed out (per our server) was implemented during covid so there is no way it should still be there. Just be aware.
For sure. For example, you can’t ask the waiter to take sales tax off your bill.
Whatever this is, it seems scamish to me.
Congratulations for getting out of chicago alive.
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One thing that is clearly apparent is the concrete/rebar decay. The rust is everywhere for all of the steel structure. Bridges, overpass, parking structures, concrete dividers absolutely shocking. You think about the amount of salt that is spread around in the Winter on roadways etc but man some bridges look damn scary. I am not writing about one overpass, bridge but everywhere you see you can actually see exposed rebar and decayed concrete. I have never seen anything like it even in Detroit.
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