No Tipping at Joe's Crab Shack Lawrenceville?

The next time you eat at Joe’s Crab Shack in Lawrenceville, you might not have to leave a tip.

That’s because the restaurant chain says tipping is an “antiquated” thing of the past and is doing away with it. Instead, staff salaries -- and prices -- will rise.

Joe’s has been testing the no-tip model since August in 18 locations, which the chain declined to reveal. The plan is to bring the policy to all 113 locations nationwide; however, no timeline has been set for that.

Instead of tipping, the company is raising the starting wage for its waiters to $14 per hour, although that amount may depend on the server’s past performance.

There will also be a full menu price increase of 12 to 15 percent, according to the chain’s parent company, Ignite Restaurant Group.

“I personally believe tipping is an antiquated model and you have seen most businesses in America migrate away from it over the last 50 to 100 years,” said Ray Blanchette, CEO, Ignite Restaurants.

Joe’s Crab Shack comes after Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group dropped tipping in October, including at Union Square Cafe and Gramercy Tavern.

Joe’s Crab Shack has New Jersey locations in Newark, Clifton, Brick, Lawrenceville, Eatontown, South Plainfield and Deptford. When Patch called several of those restaurants, employees there said they had no idea when the policy would take effect. Some said this was the first they’d heard of it.

The restaurant manager at the Newark location, however, said she received an email from corporate “yesterday or today” announcing the policy change.