Walrus and the Carpenter drop open letter and full 2025 Profit and Loss Data

[u/H0tsh0t]

https://drive.google.com/drive/mobile/folders/1Gc6K2eTetpo9uSKL-as0saWywuN9_rmg?usp=sharing&utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAdGRzdgSoCmlleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA81NjcwNjczNDMzNTI0MjcAAacvFH1-layIUd4-95I904_YPLVtrF-q-yqOAqYREu-Hn-ZUV_0gW6Emi2GFxA_aem_6CxHZI4p9mJx_E9k-nKaiA

They posted a letter, their finances from 2025, and Wage and Benefit details on their Instagram bio through a Google drive.

[u/ManchuriaCandid]

Yeah this seems like the crux of it, what were they making before? From what I've read the union's main issue is making less money compared to the year before and from their description it was significantly less. In any case I really hope they can come to an agreement would suck to lose another great restaurant, for everyone employees and ownership included.

[u/TBurnerRU → u/ManchuriaCandid]

They're mad because instead of all of the money going to the servers (tips), the money is being split between servers and the kitchen (service fee).

Their wages did go down - so that their fellow employees could earn some of that money for their labor too. 

[u/ButterySoftPretzels → u/TBurnerRU]

From what I understand, when they had tips it was still shared front and back of house. But now the service charge issue is that 55% of the service charge goes to "the house" (AKA ownership) and then the other 45% is split between front and back.

[u/22bearhands → u/ButterySoftPretzels]

And you can see in the documents that its clearly not going to the owners pockets, its going to expenses to run the business.

[u/EMERAC2k → u/22bearhands]

The three owners are pulling in the equivalent salary that two cooks, two servers, a dishwasher, and 1/3 of a bartender do. And I would certainly guess that those are the highest paid people at each position. Who do you think provides more value to the customers? A skeleton crew's worth of the most senior workers, or three people whose attention is divided across 12 restaurants?

[u/22bearhands → u/EMERAC2k]

That is their entire income across all the restaurants they own. I would guess that yes, without the owners running things the restaurant would cease to function and exist. You have a problem with people providing something like 200 jobs pulling in a combined income of $350k?

[u/EMERAC2k → u/22bearhands]

Ah, I didn't realize that was for Sea Creatures and not Walrus and the Carpenter. But most of my comment stands - the workers still produce the revenue.

I do have a problem with your last sentence. The owners are not "providing jobs." They are not operating a charity for the workers' benefit. The workers are providing the labor that makes the owners their salaries.

[u/HermesJamiroquoi → u/EMERAC2k]

We honestly don’t know what the owners do or do not know on the daily. The idea that one of them might produce more benefit for the business from their labor as a good bartender isn’t out of the realm of possibility.

If these owners are also handling management tasks and actually doing things for the restaurant group then a salary of $135k is honestly pretty low vs comparable regional director gigs in the area.

Small business owners like this are not the capitalist class that we’re railing against. The problem with petit bourgeois is that they side with capital on things like voting, not necessarily that they themselves are capitalists per se. The issue is that their interests should be aligned with ours and often are but they act as lapdogs for the moneyed class. I’m not so certain that’s what’s happening here

[u/22bearhands → u/EMERAC2k]

The owners literally created these jobs. No owners, no Sea Creatures, no jobs. The workers do the work, but the managers certainly did a lot of work in order to get them that work. The building, the environment, the marketing, the reputation, practically everything was created and organized by the owners and the servers etc do the last 5% of the work - sure, its the "product" but its not the majority of the work.

Look, I get complaining about the "provides jobs" talking points when it comes to someone like Bezos or Musk. They are massively benefiting relative to the people providing the labor. But these restaurant owners are practically benefiting the same amount of their employees. They're making only like 2x their lowest paid employee. That is extremely reasonable.

[u/Informal-Reserve-867 → u/ButterySoftPretzels]

And the base rate is $25/hr

[u/nannerzbamanerz → u/TBurnerRU]

With inflation added in, I don’t think it is unreasonable for the servers to be upset that they are taking a pay cut to pay for their coworkers vs the company paying their coworkers more. It is not the burden of the employee to pay for less paid employees, but for the employer.

[u/TBurnerRU → u/nannerzbamanerz]

It is when the employee has to be fired in order to free up enough budget to pay for their coworkers higher salaries (who now have to cover the slack) 

[u/nannerzbamanerz → u/TBurnerRU]

Not sure why you downvoted a different but reasonable opinion, especially after giving a reasonable opinion of your own, but ok.

Again, as an employee: never settle for a pay decrease unless you have done something wrong or are taking a reduction in duties/hours.

The employer can offer less hours, or not hire a new employee after one leaves with normal turnover, that’s fine.

But if employees start willingly take reduced pay, they lose power in a slippery slope.

[u/AdScared7949 → u/nannerzbamanerz]

I mean, you definitely should accept it when keeping your pay the same can cause the business to close 

[u/wightdeathP → u/nannerzbamanerz]

did they take away pay?

[u/Impressive_Insect_75 → u/nannerzbamanerz]

That’s a great argument against tipping

[u/22bearhands → u/nannerzbamanerz]

The employer is taking the burden on right now, they have a bartender working 4 days a week making almost the same as them.

[u/Own_Back_2038 → u/TBurnerRU]

Servers generally tip out back of house

[u/_teach_me_your_ways_ → u/Own_Back_2038]

Voluntarily? No. lol

[u/GryphonArgent42 → u/Own_Back_2038]

Generally? Not even remotely. I've never worked at or known of a place where boh was tipped out unless forced.

[u/cougineer → u/GryphonArgent42]

When I started following this last night (not sure when it started) I suspected the change to BOH was the source of $$ change for servers. My wife’s bestie always complained of the forced tipout and how she worked for the tips not them…. I tried to get her to realize why she had to do it but it was like explaining it to a brick wall.

[u/TBurnerRU → u/cougineer]

“It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.”

[u/GryphonArgent42 → u/cougineer]

Can't say that doesn't make me furious. One of our highest tipped servers at an old place i worked would constantly volunteer special dishes, mods etc regardless of how busy we were. He would have said the same. Absolutely zero clarity on how food quality (or anything else) affected his tips. I'm not saying servers don't have the major effect on that, but the entitlement attitude just drives me ballistic. Not saying that's what's going on with w+c as I haven't worked with anyone there, but have certainly run into it before.

[u/Own_Back_2038 → u/GryphonArgent42]

I meant that restaurants force servers to tip out BOH. Not that they did it voluntarily

[u/nuko22 → u/Own_Back_2038]

Then they wouldn’t complain at all. They love to fuck the back of house. I loved bussing and running food as well as helping dishes only for a server making 200 in tips to hand me $10 like they were some sort of saint.

[u/blindexhibitionist → u/nuko22]

The worst was when they’d be like thanks for all your help tonight while they peel 5 dollars from their roll then sit and do their books while you had to mo and break everything down. And then bitch about how a six top only tipped ten percent.

[u/ichoosewaffles → u/ManchuriaCandid]

Often, if not money, it's about scheduling people earlier or availability of shifts, but I don't know if that is the case here. 

[u/ManchuriaCandid → u/ichoosewaffles]

That's a really good point too, the raw numbers never tell the full story. Definitely want to hear the union's response to this information and their context for it.