What We Do
Let’s keep a career for our kitchen and service teams! It’s important to be transparent.
We pay our entire team fair and equitable base wages, and subsidize benefits to ensure their longevity in this career as a professional and continued growth in our company. A 20% service charge will be applied to each bill for dine-in (10% for takeout), which will be paid out to our hourly team members, including our kitchen team. Any additional gratuity is optional and will go to the front-of-house team who serve you.
We are proud to offer benefits exceeding the standards for the restaurant industry—a robust paid time off package, covering the majority of employee healthcare premiums, closure on all major holidays, matching 401K plan, third-party employee assistance program, and more. Thanks to your continued support of the optional Employee Benefits Contribution, this has been possible to achieve.
Why Service Charges? More on law changes affecting the hospitality industry
Chicago Sun Times: 5-year plan that'll raise wages for Chicago…
Illinois Restaurant Association: Protect Illinois Hospitality
Tips vs Service Charge is a complex issue. They are not the same (click here). Tipping is based on an archaic wage model and historically has led to an unfair wage gap for staff in restaurants. Tips are not allocable to the entire team, while service charges are.
The latest legislation does not guarantee fair wages to those who cannot earn tips, such as cooks and dishwashers. With the old tipping model, these team members would be left behind as the front-of-house wage increases.
There is also a difference between service charges and increasing existing menu prices. Service charges that are entirely paid out to employees as wages, such as ours, are not taxed, which helps keep the tax on your checks at a minimum.
Transparency and separating service charges accordingly keeps all costs down - yours and our team’s.
Thank you for your support of independent restaurants + Team Galit + Cafe Yaya!
Benefits in the Hospitality Industry
Our goal is to not only provide for our incredible team, but to raise awareness to our community: most people in the hospitality industry have never had access to affordable health insurance. Galit subsidizes 85% of health insurance for all staff, including 100% subsidized for the back of house team and managers.
Your Employee Benefits Contribution partially subsidizes our company’s employee benefits programs, which helps ensure we have access to equitable benefits coverage for the entire team.
We strive to lead our industry and create standards that are not yet the norm, and we hope other restaurants follow in our footsteps to provide a safe and equitable environment for employees.
We love taking care of people for a living, which also includes taking care of ourselves. And we believe that hospitality extends well beyond the four walls of our restaurants. We want what is best for everyone—ourselves, our communities, and our guests.
Ultimately, we know that many of our team members will go on to run other businesses. We hope that they will have learned what is possible in this industry and raise the bar somewhere else, to make our industry just a little bit better for all.
Thanks again for your support of independent restaurants + Team Galit + Cafe Yaya!
New Wave Hospitality Core Values
We opened Galit and Cafe Yaya with a focus as much on company culture as on food and hospitality by championing these core values:
Community: We are defined by the groups and people that surround us. These stakeholders may change and fluctuate over time and, in turn, so will our identity. The strength of our community lies in how we proudly protect its integrity and promote it to others.
Creativity: Our community promotes progressive critical thinking that centers around our vision statement. We support each other with open-mindedness to ensure we are always improving the futures of every stakeholder.
Education: A concentration on a lifetime of learning will allow our team members to grow mentally, emotionally and professionally. Education will be a focal point of our everyday business, focusing on the betterment of our craft and ourselves.
Empowerment: We value each individual’s contribution and encourage team members to consistently look for new ways to add value to Galit.
Accountability: Everyone is equally held responsible and praised for their successes and failures. They dutifully accept the rewards and consequences of their behaviors and decisions.
Equality: People are valued regardless of circumstances and will be encouraged to speak out if they sense any form of inequality in the workplace.
Respect: All individuals are always given respect and will subsequently always get respect. Everyone has the opportunity to be heard and valued.
Communication: We want to collaborate among team members, solve problems, provide support, and voice concerns as often as possible. We will be efficient, respectful, transparent, and collaborative in how we listen to others.
Organization: We value efficiency, flexibility, and clarity. Following guidelines and the timely completion of tasks will be the barometers for our organizational success.