Montpelier business gives tip money to local organizations

Knowing how much to tip your bartender can be tricky especially when everyone has their own standard.

At Caledonia Spirits in Montpelier, there is a sign on the wall telling customers all tips that would usually go to the bartenders are now donated to a local organization. They call it their community donations program.

But when a good amount of a typical bartender's income is tips, how does the distillery make this work?

"They are paid a really decent livable wage, they qualify for benefits in the company and they don't need to worry about seasonality, or working a busier shift versus a slower shift," said the distillery's Sam Nelis.

So what do customers think of this change and do they still give that extra bit of cash?

"It's worth it!" said Jeff Roberts of Montpelier. "It supports their philosophy, but it also supports people who need some help and that's okay with me."

Nelis says they raise about $10,000 on average each month for a different organization.

This culture of skipping the tip also recognizes bartending as a career and includes bartenders as a member of the company. Because of this, bartenders are given a consistent work schedule and the interactions they have with customers' changes.

"The bartenders really like that they can just kind of plan for their lives and not have to rely on whether or not one guest is going to tip them well or not," Nelis said.

Caledonia Spirits says that all of their donations in December are going to the Vermont Food Bank.