Many sports bars have cover charge when they are showing a boxing or a UFC pay per view event, to help defray to costs of ordering the pay-per-view material. Some expensive jazz clubs and comedy clubs have both a cover charge and a minimum drink requirement. In North America, the cover charge for a performance by a local teenage band may be as low as a few dollars a show by a nationally-known band with a recording contract may have a $10 to $15 cover. Other bars and clubs use cover charges only on nights when there is live entertainment or a DJ, to cover the costs of hiring the performers.Ĭover charges are usually much lower for local, semi-professional bands or entertainers than for better-known touring bands from other regions. In this case, the club can gain additional revenue from customers by requiring an entrance charge. In some cases, popular bars and clubs have a substantial excess demand patrons are lined up outside the club waiting to get in. Cover charges īars and clubs that use cover charges use them for several reasons. In 1998, the European Union ruled that the regional law was invalid, but the region is continuing to try to abolish the practice Business models īars often impose a cover charge for the expense of paying entertainers, such as DJs. In 1995, the Italian regional government in Lazio (which includes Rome) began requiring restaurants in the region to remove the cover charge for 'Pane e coperto' (bread and cover) from their bills. In Illinois, bars cannot impose a cover charge unless the fee goes toward the cost of off-setting entertainment costs such as a live band. Clubgoers would then find this cover charge added to their first drink order. This law was put in place to resolve the problem of “secret” cover charges, which are indicated only in tiny text on the menu. Children under thirteen may not be charged. Legal restrictions Īccording to Massachusetts law, subject to a penalty of up to $50, no cafe, restaurant, or bar can require payment of a minimum or cover charge unless a sign is conspicuously posted with at least one-inch-high letters, stating that a minimum charge or cover charge shall be charged and indicating the amount. The first such cover charge was introduced in 1913 by Louis Fischer at Reisenweber's Cafe in Manhattan, to cover the production costs of Ned Wayburn's revues held there. In the US the cover charge later became an entry charge where both entertainment and food and drink are provided, and carries the expectation of entertainment. The couvert or cover charge has been levied for many years, certainly in English-speaking countries by 1899. with which a table is covered or laid (2) the portion of these appropriated to each guest'. The French word both means table setting and is the past participle of couvrir, 'to cover' couvert or 'cover' in the sense of place-setting derived from the French past participle according to the OED: 'Cover (7): After French couvert, (1) ‘the covering or furniture of a Table for the meale of a prince’ (Cotgrave), the cloth, plates, knives, forks, etc. This term and the related charge, originating in France, has been used with this meaning in English since at least 1899. Restaurants in English-speaking countries sometimes have a menu in French in these and other restaurants the cover charge is sometimes described with the French word 'couvert'. taken to the table, it is payable whether or not they are eaten. Although the charge is often said to be for bread, butter, olives, etc. The charge is typically a few US dollars or equivalent. A term sometimes used in the US is 'table charge'. A place-setting at a restaurant, in English and in other languages, is often referred to as 'a cover' or equivalent term in other languages. Such a charge is made in many countries, usually described by the word equivalent to 'cover' ( couvert, coperto, cubierto, etc.). The Oxford English Dictionary defines a 'cover charge' as 'a charge for service added to the basic charge in a restaurant'.

When a group of people sit at a table in for a dinner, several type of restaurants will charge an additional fee even for a guest who does not order any food this charge is for the service of setting out the tablecloth, napkin, and cutlery.

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