Shut Up! And go make some croutons!
This is golden, interviewing a restaurant owner, who probably pays his servers $2.13 and hour, talking about how much money he is making in South Dakota;
Don Smith enjoys preparing Margherita Cheesecake, one of his signature desserts at Casa Del Rey. Smith opened the restaurant in Sioux Falls more than 30 years ago.
And at one time Smith had up to six restaurants in several states. But he says South Dakota has the most business-friendly environment.
“Our economy seems to be so stable here. The taxes are low. We don’t have a corporate tax like all the other states around us,” Smith said.
C’mon Don. Just say it. You only have to pay servers $2.13 an hour. Sounds like a pretty damn good business climate to me.
Oh, but it gets better, Mr. ‘Shut Up and Go Make some Croutons’ chimes in;
South Dakota’s commissioner for economic development isn’t surprised by the recent survey’s results.
“The two focuses we see are the tax environment, the labor issues and I think productivity also goes into that,” Governor’s Office of Economic Development Commissioner Pat Costello said.
Another Republican who has enjoyed the hospitality anti-worker laws in this state to line his pockets in many bar and restaurant ventures he has been involved with.
While these guys are making money on the backs of hardworking hospitality workers, I can tell you they are the only ones cashing in. Servers talk, and the big talk around town is how tip percentages have seen a steep decline over the past four years, while menu item prices have increased, as well as tip-out percentages, tips have been in the toilet. It is not uncommon to get a 5% or 10% tip these days. Take into account, as a server you have to ‘tip-out’ your co-workers which can be about 25% or your tips (depending on where you work). Basically the restaurant owners are squeezing their servers by charging more, and in return we receive less of a tip.
While restaurants around town have seen record sales and growth, servers are seeing the pinch.
l3wis 
