Cafe owners debate Anzac stinger

DINING: No surcharge on Queen St, but other cafes may choose to up prices on the Monday public holiday.

With Anzac Day falling on a Saturday, making the following Monday a public holiday, cafe owners are tossing up whether or not to sting diners with a surcharge.

Ten O'Clock Cookie Bakery Cafe in Masterton will not be adding the surcharge but shop manager Monique Kloeg said she can see both sides to the debate.

"I know there are cafes who will do a surcharge and I guess I understand why they do it."

She said it was important for people to understand that when businesses add a surcharge, there is a reason why.

Miss Kloeg said since the "Mondayisation" bill passed, businesses are now hit with "a double whammy" of higher expenses.

She said the new law affects the retail and hospitality industries but is not an issue corporate businesses need to deal with.

"We're open for the customers, we're not doing it for our financial benefit and that's what being part of a community is all about," said Miss Kloeg.

Featherston's Everest Bakery will open on Anzac Monday without a surcharge.

Owner Lesley He said surcharges are unfair on customers and in the past she has refused to visit restaurants that added them.

"It's not fair, that's how I used to feel when I was a customer."

She said public holidays usually bring in about twice as many people as that of a normal business day.

Everest will have a full team of staff working as Mrs He anticipates it will "get really crazy".

The Lake Ferry Hotel Bar and Cafe will be open throughout the long weekend with no surcharges.

"Lets just say I'm generous," said owner Mary Tipoki.

"We just open, we don't consider closing, it's just the nature of our job to serve the public."

She said the public holiday expenses are a burden on the business but the staff work hard and deserve the extra pay.

Mrs Tipoki said generally public holidays get busy and she hopes people won't mind waiting a little longer to be served.

"If we are nice to them, we hope they will be nice to us."

Masterton restaurants Lonestar, Iberia and Strada will also open for service without a surcharge on Anzac Monday.

Greytown's French Bakery will be adding a surcharge on Anzac Monday to cover the higher staff costs.

"It's an economic way of providing a service, and people do have the option to go somewhere else," said owner Rusty Donworth.

The law states each employee working on a public holiday is to receive wages at time-and-a-half and an additional day-in-lieu.

Mr Donworth said he always adds on a surcharge on public holidays as the staff wages push his bills up 150 per cent.

Owner of The Village Cafe in Martinborough, Bruce Laurence, said initially they did not do a surcharge but "at the end of the day we just lost money".

The cafe will add a 15 per cent surcharge on Anzac Monday, but the extra income it brings in is unlikely to cover the costs of opening.

Mr Laurence said his wage bill goes up 27.5 per cent on public holidays.

He said if he was to break even he would have to hike the surcharge up, but he will not be doing that.

He said it's mainly the locals who have an issue with the surcharge but most people do understand the need for one.

"Every other cafe in town will be in the same boat," said Mr Laurence.

Clareville Bakery in Carterton has chosen to compromise with a surcharge on Anzac Saturday, but not on the public holiday.

Owner s Mike and Rose Kloeg said they just picked one of the days to add it to, to help outlay the additional costs of staff.