A Decade of Doing Things Differently—and Why We’re Forced to Change
Ten years ago, we started Juliet to respond to a social problem we saw in the restaurant industry—a system that often failed the very people working in it, undermined professionalism, and left workers exposed to harassment, inequity, and financial instability. Josh had seen this firsthand: and had collected some benefits of the system (luck of circumstance, as he tends sometimes to joke) but also witnessed the endemic pitfalls that make restaurant work so precarious. When we got involved in planning Juliet, I was dying for more restaurant context and Josh was looking for a way to do things differently, when it came to people, in any and every way possible. I had an education in that. We put our strengths and hopes together and out came Juliet.
From the very beginning, we committed to doing things differently. Our business plan prioritized fairness and equity at a time when it meant giving up access to traditional bank funding and most private investment. We knew it would cost us, personally, and it has—over and over. But we were willing to pay that cost because we believed in the importance of creating a professional, safe, and equitable workplace.
Over the years, we invested in our team (and the local economy) in very concrete ways:
Paying over $600,000 in additional wages beyond what the law required.
Contributing nearly an extra $100,000 in unemployment, Social Security, and Medicare taxes because we implemented a service charge model instead of relying on tips.
Guests appreciated the simplicity and fairness of this system; staff appreciated the stability of a guaranteed wage. The intersection of those benefits—fairness for everyone—was exactly why we did it.
We were committed to paying a fair, living wage for every worker, believing it is the employer’s responsibility to do so. We paid more than we had to because we saw it as an investment in our staff, our local economy, and our industry. We never wanted to be the only ones operating this way—and for years, we were a resource for other business owners trying to do the same. Locally, nationally, we shared what we’d learned.
In the early days, we saw momentum toward a real shift in the industry. In 2016, the tipped minimum wage in Massachusetts was $3.25 per hour (and had recently been raised to that amount). We spoke up for change, pushing for wages closer to the state minimum—and now, after years of incremental progress, it is $7.75. Progress stalled for many reasons, but we always looked at reality in front of us and applied creativity to solve problems.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, inflation and rising costs made the situation even more urgent. Our solution: a 20% service charge, designed not as a tip, but as a way to guarantee equitable compensation across the whole team. This allowed us to:
Keep starting wages above the state minimum, long before Massachusetts mandated $15/hour for non-tipped workers, Juliet was paying that, and more, for ALL staff.
Ensure equitable compensation for front-of-house and back-of-house staff alike, respecting the effort of everyone from dishwashers to bartenders, and everyone in between.
Avoid situations where traditional tipping laws would have caused inequity, with service staff potentially making 100% more than kitchen staff doing equally vital work, but at the same time opening themselves up to the many pitfalls and harassments endemic to the tipping system.
We iterated on this model for 6 and a half years and then ran it under our current version another three; always paying full wages above the state minimum, guaranteeing fairness, and creating functional, livable compensation for every member of our team. This approach was inclusive, equitable, and allowed us to account for and create career level opportunities regardless of native language, immigration status, gender, and education level—all without sacrificing the quality of our product and service.
But now, we are at a crossroads. Massachusetts’ new legislation on “junk fees,” combined with the realities of rising costs, rent increases, and long-standing structural challenges in the restaurant industry, has removed the last viable mechanism for Juliet to maintain our service-charge model. We are left without any other option to ensure financial viability while maintaining a fair, sustainable business.
Starting September 2, 2025 date, Juliet will be forced to roll back 10 years of iteration and begin paying service staff using the alternative minimum wage, with tips being accepted and expected to make up their full compensation. This is an incredibly difficult decision, and it does not reflect a change in our values. Our commitment to fairness, equity, and supporting our staff remains as strong as ever.
We are still deeply committed to:
Career development and advancement opportunities for all team members.
Bilingual training and inclusive workplace practices.
Transparent alignment of business and team incentives.
Safe, secure, and supportive work places
We are proud of the jobs we’ve created, the culture we’ve fostered, and the values we’ve stood by for nearly a decade. But we can only swim upstream for so long, and the people of Massachusetts have voted to keep tipping and restrict ways restaurants can innovate away from that system.
This is deeply sad for us. We have survived:
Construction delays and sidewalk closures — three times
A global pandemic.
Skyrocketing egg prices.
Cost gouging on essential supplies.
The “death by a thousand cuts” that small business owners know too well.
And yet, here we are, forced to change the one part of our model that allowed us to guarantee fair wages across the board. We chose change because Juliet must survive—and because we want to continue supporting our team in meaningful ways, even if that means adjusting our approach.
To our guests: we hope you understand. We ask for your continued support as we navigate these unknown waters. And we promise, we won’t change the omelet recipe. And if you know Josh, you know that what that really means is we won’t change our care for our team, our forward thinking, long term planning, eschewing of short term profits over sustainable systems and growth. Because that is how the goddamn eggs are made; “Así se hacen los huevos”