Winter Park restaurant explains mandatory service charge
Park Avenue restaurant Ava MediterrAegean recently became the topic of discussion among members of the popular Facebook group Orlando Foodie Forum presented by Tasty Chomps! after users circulated an internal document spelling out the restaurant's service charge and gratuity policies.
The document states — and Ava executives confirmed — that Ava applies a mandatory 20% service charge to all guest bills, with 1.5% retained by the restaurant to fund benefits like paid time off for back-of-house staff, and 18.5% distributed to front-of-house staff through a point system. Additionally, a 3% surcharge is withheld from service charges paid by credit card to cover processing fees.
If a customer wants to tip a server, that’s in addition to the service charge.
This sparked heated reactions from foodies in the group.
