An Oakland soul food restaurant named the best in the United States is fighting back after a wave of online hate, racist emails, and violent threats followed a viral social media post about its mandatory 20% service charge.
Geoff Davis, chef and owner of Burdell, has used the service charge model since the restaurant launched as a popup in 2022. He says the fee helps pay all of his workers, not just servers, a stable, livable wage, and covers healthcare for full-time employees. But what was once a quiet policy became a flashpoint after a Reddit post went viral last month.
The trouble began on February 3, when a user posted a photo of a Burdell receipt to an anti-tipping forum on Reddit, writing “What the f is this.” The user claimed they weren’t told about the service charge until the bill arrived. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the charge is clearly listed on Burdell’s menu and explained on the restaurant’s website, the top comment on the viral post even noted the fee is “noted very prominently on the menu.”
The post drew more than 1,500 comments, and a flood of one-star reviews hit Burdell’s Yelp and Google pages. The restaurant was also hit with angry emails, phone calls, and direct messages on social media.
Davis explains the fee on customer receipts, noting that tipping culture in America has deep roots in racial inequality. As the Los Angeles Times reports, tipping blossomed in the United States after the Civil War, when employers sought to avoid paying formerly enslaved Black workers. The Pullman Co., which built railroad cars, famously hired newly freed Black men as porters, paid them almost nothing, and forced them to survive on tips from white passengers.
Burdell’s receipts read: “Tipping in the US has an ugly past, allowing the continuation of underpaid labor. We don’t like that history. Included on your check is a 20% Service Charge which we use to pay hourly staff a consistent and livable wage, not dependent on archaic tipping customs or chance. No need to add anything else.”
Davis said he carefully chose that language years ago. “I felt strongly about acknowledging the history,” he said. “At the same time, I wanted to pay my staff competitive wages and offer healthcare coverage.”
The situation worsened after a conservative tabloid published a story framing the charge as an expression of “woke” culture. Davis said the article took quotes out of context and did not contact him before publishing. According to the Chronicle, the headline was later revised after Davis publicly called it misleading, and the article’s author appeared to send him an apology via email.
“We’ve gotten threats of violence, threats of burning down the restaurant and just horrible, hateful emails,” Davis told the Times. “It’s exhausting and scary, not just for me but for our staff.”
Davis, who is Black, posted screenshots of racist messages he received — including a profanity-laced email that called the service charge a “20% racism fee.”
“I’m just blown away by why we are getting held to a different standard,” Davis said. “We aren’t doing anything crazy. We didn’t invent service charges.”
Service charges are far from unusual. Food & Wine magazine named Burdell the best restaurant in the United States in 2025. Other acclaimed California restaurants, including Michelin-starred Kato in downtown Los Angeles and Coucou in West Hollywood, charge similar fees of 18% and 20%, respectively.
Davis said pay for his employees runs roughly double Oakland’s local minimum wage, which hit $17.34 on Wednesday (January 1). Full-time workers can have about 75% of their healthcare costs covered.
“There are so many restaurants that do this,” Davis said. “This is a scary thing and it feels unfair.”
Despite the online hostility, Davis says Oakland has shown up for him. Locals have flooded the restaurant with reservations, often leaving notes of support. Burdell was fully booked for Valentine’s Day.
“People are really coming out and supporting and we’ve been really busy,” Davis said. “It has really restored that faith and will to keep doing the thing.”
Yelp has since started monitoring Burdell’s business page for suspicious review activity. Davis says the threats have diminished in recent days but have not stopped entirely.
“People want tips so they can not tip,” Davis said. “But we have to pay for the labor somewhere.”
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