Miami Beach Wants to Take 'Rampant Shenanigans' off the Menu

MIAMI BEACH — Seeking to take "rampant shenanigans" off the menu, Miami Beach commissioners took the first step toward requiring outdoor restaurants to disclose some of the hidden charges they've been tacking onto customer tabs.

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"There’s rampant shenanigans going on," declared Commissioner Michael Grieco, who sponsored a measure that won easy approval on its initial reading on Wednesday. The change would force outdoor cafes to disclose any service charges, gratuities and taxes they've been tacking onto bills.

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"This stemmed originally from a resident sending me a picture of a bill that actually charged more sales tax than is legally applied," Grieco told fellow commissioners. "Right now sales tax in Miami Beach for food and beverage is 9 percent. They were applying in excess of 10 percent."

Other restaurants may be tacking on similar charges, but the measure would only affect outdoor cafes because they fall under the city's jurisdiction. Other restaurants would have to voluntarily comply with the new disclosure requirements.

"If you weren’t paying attention you were getting taxed. Let’s say it’s a dollar or two more, but aggregate that out and that’s the fleecing of a lot of customers," according to Grieco, who said he visited a number of Miami Beach restaurants and discovered that such practices were rampant.

"Let’s say it’s a dollar or two more, but aggregate that out and that’s the fleecing of a lot of customers," he said.

The hidden fees weren't limited to incorrect taxes.

"When you look at your bill and it says ‘service charge’ — service charge and gratuity are two different things," he explained. So a gratuity — and I’ve waited tables for years — a gratuity goes to the server. But a service charge is something different and gratuities cannot be taxed."

Grieco, who went from waiting tables to become an attorney before joining the commission, said that patrons should feel free to question service charges.

"Your question should be where does this money go to? And if it goes purely to the server, then they’re applying a tax where it can’t be applied. So this requires all of our sidewalk cafes not only to comply with the state laws. It applies to the applicability of taxes."

If the measure wins final approval, the Miami Beach city manager would have the authority to shut down outdoor cafes that fail to comply.

Commissioner Kristen Rosen Gonzalez said part of the problem may stem from cultural differences. She said that many restaurateurs come from Europe where service fees tend to be more common.

"I’m a little bit concerned about over regulating businesses," she said before voting in favor of the measure. "But I do want our tourists to come here and not get cheated."

While she too supported the measure, Commissioner Joy Malakoff urged colleagues to minimize any additional costs to local businesses.

"It should be transparent and our customers should know what they are paying for," she said.

The second reading and a public hearing on the measure is scheduled for the commission's March 1 meeting, which begins at 8:30 a.m. on the third floor of Miami Beach City Hall at 1700 Convention Center Drive.

Photo of Ocean Drive in South Beach by Paul Scicchitano