It depends. If the Michelin star attracts more wealthy clients that use credit cards over cash, it’s going to be challenging to justify the money you’re bringing in.
You could go the luxury “cheap” food route: tacos or burgers costing $20 a plate.
Likely still have cash clientele so you can launder money.
You could also open a 2nd restaurant if the first does too well - just say you use it to make your great food accessible to more people and to test new products before risking your reputation. The part about “I want me some cash to mix in some of my dirty money” can be strategically left out.
Up until recently it wasn’t a big deal, they’d point to the ATM at the grocery store next door and say, “ATM right there! No card! No card!” while tapping the cash only sign.
Unfortunately that grocery store closed last month. I hope they make it because I love the family that owns the place.
After Covid though, the cleanliness went downhill big time there. I mean, to a shocking degree.
During the peak of the pandemic they stuck a table in front of the doors and trusted customers to pay and take correct change themselves. That meant the world to me.
Buuuuut. They went from the cleanest restaurant in town to a place that looks like it hasn’t been mopped since 2019. It’s like the pandemic made them lazy and they never recovered.
Nah they’re all in there. I’ve known them since I was about 5 years old.
They legit just stopped cleaning it. The last time I went in there I noticed thick black dirt in front of the drink cooler, so I peered over the counter and it was the same all the way back in the kitchen. I couldn’t even eat my food.
It sucks too because it has always been my favorite spot to eat. I used to take my daughter every weekend.
She still eats there haha. She says she don’t care, it’s too good to give up.
The counters and cookers all look clean, they just stopped mopping the place it seems.
There was this really sleazy place in Mexico where a lot of tourists go where they only accepted pacos. For context, most places in Mexico tourist areas will accept dollars (and for the most part give you a fair exchange rate). They would point to an ATM across the street and tell you to get money from there.
I did the needful and paid for my stuff and went back to the beach. That evening, I got an alert from my bank saying that my purchase for airline tickets was rejected due to possible fraud. I called my bank and sure enough, my card was skimmed.
I checked the machine before I got cash to make sure there wasn’t a skimmer. But it turns out that this scam is quite common in tourist areas in Mexico. The machine itself is run by criminals and they record the details of your card by using the machine.
All this to say: I know cash is king but man, it can also be quite sleezy.
I would love that but the credit card companies make that illegal and you can get in trouble and have your ability to take credit cards revoked if they catch you doing that
It’s not “illegal”. It’s against their merchant agreement. No one is going to jail over it.
That said, the merchant agreement says you can’t charge more for credit card users. But it doesn’t say you can’t give a discount for using cash. That’s how my parents went around it.
Sounds like most merchants won’t even do the bare minimum of effort to research how to get around such restrictions and I’m sure they don’t lookthe other way when it’s in higher volume
It’s illegal in this state just to charge more than, I think $1.50 or $2 or something, for that shit anyway. Would be funny if those stores really were some kind of illegal front and they get found out because of that law. Like Capone getting put away on tax evasion.
Just because you launder money doesn’t mean you can’t still go for that Michelin star.
Just because you launder money using modern art, doesn’t mean the painting has to be terrible.
It depends. If the Michelin star attracts more wealthy clients that use credit cards over cash, it’s going to be challenging to justify the money you’re bringing in.
You could go the luxury “cheap” food route: tacos or burgers costing $20 a plate.
Likely still have cash clientele so you can launder money.
You could also open a 2nd restaurant if the first does too well - just say you use it to make your great food accessible to more people and to test new products before risking your reputation. The part about “I want me some cash to mix in some of my dirty money” can be strategically left out.
Fun fact there is actually precedent of money laundering restaurants going legit because they started producing more money than they were laundering.
Make Some Noise did this as a bit very recently - one mafioso is too invested in the front business
My local Chinese restaurant doesn’t accept cards.
Up until recently it wasn’t a big deal, they’d point to the ATM at the grocery store next door and say, “ATM right there! No card! No card!” while tapping the cash only sign.
Unfortunately that grocery store closed last month. I hope they make it because I love the family that owns the place.
After Covid though, the cleanliness went downhill big time there. I mean, to a shocking degree.
During the peak of the pandemic they stuck a table in front of the doors and trusted customers to pay and take correct change themselves. That meant the world to me.
Buuuuut. They went from the cleanest restaurant in town to a place that looks like it hasn’t been mopped since 2019. It’s like the pandemic made them lazy and they never recovered.
Maybe not lazy, maybe a key person got long covid or something.
Nah they’re all in there. I’ve known them since I was about 5 years old.
They legit just stopped cleaning it. The last time I went in there I noticed thick black dirt in front of the drink cooler, so I peered over the counter and it was the same all the way back in the kitchen. I couldn’t even eat my food.
It sucks too because it has always been my favorite spot to eat. I used to take my daughter every weekend.
She still eats there haha. She says she don’t care, it’s too good to give up.
The counters and cookers all look clean, they just stopped mopping the place it seems.
There was this really sleazy place in Mexico where a lot of tourists go where they only accepted pacos. For context, most places in Mexico tourist areas will accept dollars (and for the most part give you a fair exchange rate). They would point to an ATM across the street and tell you to get money from there.
I did the needful and paid for my stuff and went back to the beach. That evening, I got an alert from my bank saying that my purchase for airline tickets was rejected due to possible fraud. I called my bank and sure enough, my card was skimmed.
I checked the machine before I got cash to make sure there wasn’t a skimmer. But it turns out that this scam is quite common in tourist areas in Mexico. The machine itself is run by criminals and they record the details of your card by using the machine.
All this to say: I know cash is king but man, it can also be quite sleezy.
Just put a sign up that reads “Cash is King Prawn” problem solved
Or do what a few places around me do, and charge an extra 10% if you pay by anything other than cash.
Maybe that cigarette store is actually a money laundering front… 🤔
I would love that but the credit card companies make that illegal and you can get in trouble and have your ability to take credit cards revoked if they catch you doing that
It’s not “illegal”. It’s against their merchant agreement. No one is going to jail over it.
That said, the merchant agreement says you can’t charge more for credit card users. But it doesn’t say you can’t give a discount for using cash. That’s how my parents went around it.
Sounds like most merchants won’t even do the bare minimum of effort to research how to get around such restrictions and I’m sure they don’t lookthe other way when it’s in higher volume
It’s illegal in this state just to charge more than, I think $1.50 or $2 or something, for that shit anyway. Would be funny if those stores really were some kind of illegal front and they get found out because of that law. Like Capone getting put away on tax evasion.
i have no doubt, that there are plenty of restaurants, that started as a money laundering front, but ended up becoming successful.