A Brooklyn, New York, pizzeria called Franny's has announced it is raising prices to be able to afford the spending requirements of ObamaCare. Now, the menu reads, "a 3 percent surcharge will be added to all checks to cover the Affordable Care Act for all Franny's employees."
"We've always been criticized for prices," explains Franny's executive chef John Adler, "so we said, 'Hold on, before we start putting $22, $23 pizzas on the menu, let's be transparent about what that money is going towards.'" Because the pizzeria's owners run two other restaurants, they meet the 50-employee baseline requirement of the ACA — and with it, "upwards of a quarter million dollars" in added costs, Adler says.
"This is a cost that we cannot absorb without going out of business," said owner Francine Stephens, though she also notes that some of the new costs the surcharge will cover stem from expected minimum wage hikes in New York State, which Franny's is pre-emptively scaling wages to accommodate. Bonnie Kristian
The Week
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Update 12:01 p.m.: In a statement given to Grub Street, Franny's owner Francine Stephens cleared the air:
"It is appearing that many of our guests are viewing the proposed ACA surcharge as anti-ObamaCare, which is so unfortunate, because it is in fact, quite the opposite! Through this surcharge, Franny's is embracing ObamaCare. Clearly our intent was misunderstood and our guests have made it clear that they would prefer to see higher prices as opposed to a surcharge. We've always worked in the service of our staff and guests and will amend our prices accordingly while removing the surcharge entirely.Initially, we thought, before we start putting $22 pizza on the menu, let's be transparent about what that money is actually going towards. However, it seems given the stated preference of our guests as well as the potential for misinterpretations into the future, we will retract the surcharge and reconfigure our menu pricing instead." [Grub Street]
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