Melrose's Rising Eagle Raises Eyebrows With Extra Fee

MELROSE, MA — It's ironic that the discussion around a restaurant that harks back to the Revolutionary War has to do with a levy.

The Rising Eagle, owned by the same Turner family that owns the seafood restaurant across the street, opened last month in the former home of Stearns and Hill's after more than a year's wait. The idea of the Eagle is simple: an 18th century throwback where customers place their orders at the bar and mingle with friends and neighbors; their food and drink eventually find them.

But the Eagle's takeoff raised some eyebrows around town. A Facebook post on a private community page that simply read "Rising Eagle was open last night!" had 280 comments as of Thursday morning — the majority of them debating the merits of a 5 percent fee added to bills.

The Eagle calls it a "Publick House hospitality fee," which is shared with the hourly staff in the front and back of the restaurant — including the kitchen and dishroom staff — but doesn't replace a traditional tip. Or, as signs in the restaurant (even the restrooms) phrase it: "To more equitably distribute your dining dollars … ."

That's exactly how ownership explains it.

"What we're really trying to do is spread dining dollars more equitably amongst our team," owner Kathi Turner told Patch. "Because we have a bit of a hybrid service model, our back-of-the-house team is very integrated with our front-of-the-house dining experience."

Turner said it's a way to keep menu prices down while still compensating the staff. An increase in menu prices alone would only widen the gap between the backroom workers and the more visible waitstaff, because Massachusetts law prohibits the front of the house sharing gratuity with the back.

The fee, like a tip, is optional. But the fee, like a tip, is generally expected. Both are applied to the pretax amount.

Some initial frustrations appeared to come from people being caught off guard. Others sounded against the spirit of it.

Others appreciated the effort to see more workers earn their fair share.

Lauren Grymek, executive director of the Chamber of Commerce, said this isn't a shady way to turn an extra buck. Rather, the Turners are getting ahead of what she thinks will be a more common practice in coming years.

"It's not about making a profit or more money in a slick way," Grymek said. "There are general rising costs — employers like the Rising Eagle and the Turner family want to pay their employees a living wage."

The Eagle doesn't try to hide it — it's on the menu and on signs when you walk into the restaurant.

The online menu has seven sentences describing it:

To more equitably distribute your dining dollars and acknowledge to all team members, a 5% Publick House hospitality fee is automatically added to your check.* This fee is shared with both front and back of the house Rising Eagle staff. Feel free to adjust this however, you deem appropriate. Any gratuity you choose to leave in addition is by law only distributed amongst wait staff/food runners, service employees and bartenders.

*the money does not represent a tip or service charge for wait staff employees, service employees or service, bartenders. Any checks left open after you depart will automatically be charged to the credit card given for that check and will have a 15% gratuity added on. Thank you very much for your support.

The experience is different from one you'd find across the street — or anywhere else in Melrose. It's a cozy tavern, complete with a fireplace, that pays homage to Melrose's patriotic start as part of Malden at the time of the country's birth.

Customers walk in, grab a menu and order at the bar before sitting down. They get a wooden spoon etched with a number that follows them wherever they sit — and they are encouraged to test that out.

The idea is to enjoy the atmosphere and company, making your way to friends and neighbors around the room.

"We really want it to be a traditional Publick House experience where you walk right in, you get your order started, and we want to the floor to be very interactive," Turner said. "It encourages that kind of interaction."

It's another thing that might take some getting used to for some. Customers may be in line for 15-20 minutes on a busy night before placing an order, according to some customers.

While the Eagle works on ways to mitigate that — the menu is relatively limited, and a server may meet you in line to prep a drink order — there's some purpose to it.

The Turners got inspiration from a recent trip to England, where every order at a pub is made by making your way to the bar. While it isn't that extreme at the Eagle (it's a pretty normal experience once you order), the Turners were shooting for something different.

According to the immediate feedback, they hit their mark.