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Do you think restaurants should charge a fee for bringing in cakes?
- Yes
- No
Long Island resident Don Amato, of Kings Park, vented his frustrations in a post on the Long Island Foodies Facebook page.
Amato said he and a group of coworkers went to The Refuge in Melville to celebrate a birthday on Thursday, July 28, and were “taken back a little” when the bill came.
That’s when he noticed the restaurant had added a $25 “outside food fee” because the group had brought in their own cake.
“I know that times are tough for restaurants, but I have never seen this added charge before,” Amato wrote.
He went on to say that his waitress informed the group that the manager had added the fee.
Amato said he and his coworkers have been going to The Refuge to celebrate birthdays for years without issue.
“Moral of the story: check your bills, ask questions and change is good!!” he wrote.
An employee at The Refuge told Daily Voice the $25 fee for bringing in cakes is standard practice for the eatery as wait staff cut and serve the cakes on restaurant dishes.
As for whether or not Amato will be returning to The Refuge for future celebrations:
“Thank goodness there are many other restaurants on 110 to go each month,” he wrote.
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