Photo courtesy of William Street Common.
Anyone who has worked in the restaurant industry knows how unpredictable earning a living can be, especially with varying beliefs about tipping. Bottom line: for a server or a bartender, income can be completely arbitrary according to how customers are feeling at any given moment.
Restaurateur Avram Hornick wants to take the guesswork out of the tipping process with his new venture at 39th and Chestnut, William Street Common, which opened last week. He expects it to attract a crowd different from his other spots in the area, such as Morgan’s Pier.
“First, the whole purpose is social conversation,” said Hornick. “West Philly; what’s interesting about it is its diversity. I wouldn’t call it a melting pot, more like a jambalaya. The parts are separate. I would like to make the mixing of these parts possible here.”
William Street Common features long communal tables, beer garden style.
Just like several food establishments around the country, Hornick is experimenting with a new concept of flat pricing; all drinks regardless of content are $5. Employees are paid a flat rate of $15 an hour regardless of position (everyone is cross-trained). The establishment has made this possible by implementing a 20 percent mandatory service fee for all checks. A percentage of the restaurant’s gross revenue also goes towards an ‘employee incentive’ fund that employees can use towards paid time off, health insurance and whatever gets the most votes. The house staff has been trained to ‘politely decline tips.’
The venue boasts a “comfort food” menu by Chef David Gilberg, including a three drink prix-fixe brunch with bottomless donuts and coffee, one entrée and three drinks for $22.33.
“We want people to show up and sit for six hours, we can afford that being in West Philly,” said Hornick.
The American Mule. (Photo by Rana Fayez)
The inner menu offers an assortment of shareable snacks and sandwiches such as warm pretzel bites with beer mustard; snack bacon; roasted vegetables paired with chickpea pancakes and honey-cumin yogurt; two varieties of homemade pierogies and three options for macaroni and cheese; bifana with garlic roast pork, sweet mustard and charred red onion; BBQ short rib with creamy horseradish and celery root straw; and for something sweet, warm apple fritters with salted-caramel pudding.
The drink list includes refreshing specialty cocktails such as the American Mule, Blood Orange Shandy, a draft list ranging from light to dark and a curated variety of wines on tap.
The space is situated in the historic Hotel Pennsylvania at 3900 Chestnut Street, in what used to be the bustling college bar Drinker’s West. The space has been transformed since, however. There are plans to outfit the upstairs portion with vintage skeeball games, a bouncy house and more arcade games. The main hall is open to all ages, while the side bar will always remain closed to those under 21.
William Street Common’s hours are: Monday – Friday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 2 a.m.; Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 2 a.m.; Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; brunch is available on weekends from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, call 215.397.4693 or visit www.williamstreetcommon.com.
– Rana Fayez
March 2nd, 2015 at 2:07 pm
I don’t get this whole communal seating trend. I’d rather avoid having to socialize or look at annoying Penn kids. Meh.
March 2nd, 2015 at 3:02 pm
Also, what is up with the awful bench seating? You want people to hang out all afternoon? Then use actual comfortable seats with backs.
March 2nd, 2015 at 4:38 pm
I’m not opposed to biergarten style seating, but that looks kind of awkward. That’s just one level up from sharing a diner booth with strangers.
As far as the concept goes, I’m fine with it. No tipping + higher food cost vs lower food cost + 20% tip? Don’t care. In fact, given how much complaining I see online about tipping (which actually is very good for many servers despite all the “horror stories”), I say let’s scrap it and just go with baking in the cost of service into the bill.
March 3rd, 2015 at 4:22 am
@WestPhillyChic, @Wild Turkey: Did you read the story? ***First, the whole purpose is social conversation*** There it is, right in front.
If you don’t like it, don’t go. Go sit in a booth or at a solitary table. Simple.
Me, I don’t like shellfish, so I don’t go to Doc Magrogan’s Oyster House. But I like conversation, and I might want to go hang out at this place.
Oh, and I’m not a Penn student, I’m a Penn retiree with a PhD from Berkeley.
March 3rd, 2015 at 6:54 am
Yay for flat pricing! Not sure I would spend hours there on those benches, but maybe they’ll move the patrons through and give them a higher turnover to support the staff wages.
March 3rd, 2015 at 12:33 pm
I like the flat pricing thing, but I’m just confused by this service charge business. Is it just being added to the check at the end? Why not just factor it into the food prices to begin with? (I realize it doesn’t actually make a difference… I just think it’s silly to add a “service charge” at the end if it’s mandatory.)
Don’t want undergrads? Go in the summer. Campus restaurants/bars are lovely in the summer.
March 3rd, 2015 at 8:37 pm
Arwin: ISTM that presenting the service charge this way makes it much clearer. Just “factoring it ininto the food prices to begin with” and mentioning it somewhere or other would
a) leave diners at easy risk of forgetting that it’s already paid, and
b) make the menu look 20% more expensive than it actually is in practical terms.
March 4th, 2015 at 11:30 am
That’s what I assumed… though then isn’t it just “mandatory tip” instead of “no tip”? If you’re actually trying to make my life easier, tell me my sandwich costs $12, instead of putting $10 on the menu and making me add 20% when I’m trying to figure out how to split a bill. Math is hard, you guys.
I have no doubt that you’re correct about the reasoning… I just don’t like it for some reason.
March 4th, 2015 at 11:54 am
While a single business who wants to transition to flat pricing/no tipping is probably better off itemizing the “mandatory tip” or surcharge for clarity sake, I do hope that if this country moves away from tipping, that only the price of the good + tax is on the bill. It’s a pet peeve on mine. No service surcharges, flat % added to bill. Negotiate a wage with your employees, bake the cost of labor into the price of the food (along with all the costs, transportation, rent, etc.), and be done.
March 5th, 2015 at 11:48 am
I checked this place out, the “tip” is just calculated into the cost of doing business. They have shitty beer for $5, but they also have pretty good cocktails for $5. I think they make their money on the food. I got a pretty West Philly style sandwich with Old City prices.
I like the idea, though. I’ll definitely go back, just not to eat.
March 5th, 2015 at 1:16 pm
It’s not a “no tipping” restaurant… it’s a “mandatory 20% tipping” restaurant. I’d love to be able to find a restaurant in Philly whose menu prices already had tip/tax calculated into what’s listed. I hate the surprise at the end. If only the USA would catch up with the rest of the world.