Some restaurants and bars in the Crossroads are pivoting — reducing staff, taking off automatic gratuity and even reducing hours — in response to a World Cup that’s brought businesses the usual amount or even fewer customers than a typical summer in Kansas City.
News of business concerns began to trickle on social media, with restaurants like Manny’s Mexican Restaurant posting statements about getting rid of automatic gratuity. Jim’s Alley Bar and its sister restaurant, King G, also announced on Instagram that both businesses would operate at normal hours after extending operations for the World Cup.
In a post on Facebook on Monday from Manny’s, owner Danny Lopez started by explaining his reasoning for adding an automatic 18% gratuity for less than two weeks into the World Cup. The business, decked out in FIFA World Cup decor, thought international visitors would show up to the Crossroads eatery, but wouldn’t tip, as it isn’t the custom in most countries…