Yesterday, Washington’s hotly anticipated food market opened. This had a lot of build-up and promotion and offered a variety of different foods from various vendors. However, as of the time of writing, it has also stirred up controversy. This is because it currently has a Google review rating of 2.1/5 stars. In other words, there have already been a slew of negative reviews. These reviews aren’t based on the food either and are instead based on the pricing structure.

A local guide named Keith Schuler wrote: “Adding a separate 12% surcharge because you refuse to pay a living wage. Why don’t you also add 10% for your profit? Or 15% for rent? Don’t go” while other bad reviews echoed these thoughts.

This 12% surcharge was also confirmed in a Reddit thread that also questioned the validity of the extra dining cost. This can be seen in the image below.

As seen, the plaque reads: ‘A 12% fair wage charge has been included on every check to ensure all staff are paid the minimum wage as mandated by Initiative 82. Tipping remains a vital part of compensation for our staff.’

This led to hundreds of comments on the thread with many voicing their displeasure. It also brings up a wider debate surrounding tipping culture in the US, especially during testing economic times. Square One has yet to respond to these criticisms.