The extra line on your Coaster Saloon bill in San Diego is a 5% supplemental fee the restaurant adds to every guest check to help offset rising costs. It is not a tip, and according to the restaurant’s own menu, you can ask your server to take it off.1The Coaster Saloon. Menu
What the Charge Is
Coaster Saloon’s menu discloses a 5% supplemental fee added to all guest checks, described as a measure to help offset rising costs.1The Coaster Saloon. Menu The same fee and explanation appear on the online ordering page, where it applies to all online orders.2Cohn Restaurant Group Order Experience. Coaster Saloon Menu The charge shows up on your credit card or bank statement as part of the total you paid after dining in or ordering takeout from the Mission Beach location at 744 Ventura Place.
The fee is not a gratuity. Under California law, a mandatory service charge belongs to the employer, who decides how to distribute it; a voluntary tip belongs entirely to the employee.3Davis Wright Tremaine. California Service Charge Tips Law The 5% is revenue for the business, not money paid directly to your server, so leaving a tip on top is still a separate decision.
How to Get the Fee Removed
Coaster Saloon’s menu states that customers may request to have the fee removed from the check.1The Coaster Saloon. Menu The simplest path is to ask your server before paying. If you already paid and spotted the charge later on a statement, contact the restaurant directly at the Mission Beach address, 744 Ventura Place, San Diego, CA 92109.
Why Coaster Saloon Adds It
The 5% charge is not specific to Coaster Saloon. It is a company-wide practice at Cohn Restaurant Group, which bought the Mission Beach bar in July 2017 and operates more than 20 other restaurants in Southern California and Maui, including Coasterra, Island Prime, Corvette Diner, and The Prado at Balboa Park.4Cohn Restaurant Group. Our Restaurants5NBC San Diego. Cohn Affiliate Buys Coaster Saloon Mission Beach Property
David Cohn introduced the surcharges in January 2017 after San Diego raised its minimum wage. The rate was 3% at his 11 restaurants inside the city of San Diego and 2.5% at five locations outside city limits, and Cohn said it covered roughly $2 million in higher annual payroll costs.6San Diego Union-Tribune. Restaurants Respond to Wage Hike With Dining Surcharge The rate has since risen to the current 5%, though the restaurant’s materials do not say exactly when that increase took effect.
The group’s loyalty program excludes surcharges from both points earning and reward redemption at participating locations, so the fee does not count toward any rewards balance.7Cohn Restaurant Group. CRG Loyalty Club Terms and Conditions
What California Law Requires for This Kind of Fee
Restaurant surcharges in California are legal, but only when properly disclosed. In 2023 the state passed SB 478, the Honest Pricing Law, which barred businesses from advertising one price and adding mandatory fees at checkout. When it became clear that would effectively ban restaurant surcharges statewide, Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 1524 on June 29, 2024, carving out an exemption for restaurants, bars, food concessions, and grocery stores.8NBC San Diego. Restaurant Surcharges to Stay in California After Last-Minute Reversal by Gov. Newsom
Under SB 1524, a restaurant can charge a mandatory fee only if two conditions are met. The fee must be clearly and conspicuously displayed on any menu, advertisement, or display that shows item prices, and the restaurant must explain what the fee is for.9California Restaurant Association. SB 1524 A charge that only appears on the final bill, with no prior notice, does not satisfy the law.10California Attorney General. Hidden Fees
As of July 1, 2025, the disclosure standard tightened. Under California Civil Code Section 1791(u), fee disclosures must appear in larger type than surrounding text, in a contrasting font or color, or set off by symbols or marks that draw the reader’s attention.9California Restaurant Association. SB 1524 A restaurant that fails those formatting rules risks violating the Consumer Legal Remedies Act, which allows consumers to bring individual or class-action lawsuits for at least $1,000 per violation plus attorney’s fees.11Fox Rothschild. California Joins Jurisdictions Across the Country Taking Aim at Junk Fees
If You Think the Fee Wasn’t Properly Disclosed
San Diego has acted on surcharge disclosure before. In January 2017, City Attorney Mara Elliott opened an investigation into restaurants adding 3% fees labeled as “government mandated surcharges,” arguing no government had mandated them. Her office sent warning letters to more than 11 restaurants, and most complied by making disclosures more prominent or dropping the fee.12NBC San Diego. City Attorney to Investigate Restaurants Adding 3 Percent Surcharge13City of San Diego. Barefoot Bar and Grill Settlement Press Release One holdout, Barefoot Bar & Grill at Paradise Point Resort on Mission Bay, paid $34,500 in March 2019 to settle a civil enforcement action over a 3% fee disclosed only in extremely small print.14NBC San Diego. Barefoot Bar and Grill Mission Bay Pays Hidden Surcharge Fee The public record does not show Coaster Saloon or Cohn Restaurant Group among the restaurants targeted in that campaign.
If you believe a surcharge was not properly disclosed, you can file a complaint with the California Attorney General through the office’s consumer complaint process, or call the San Diego City Attorney’s consumer fraud line at (619) 533-5800.15California Attorney General. Consumers13City of San Diego. Barefoot Bar and Grill Settlement Press Release The Attorney General’s office accepts complaints online but does not provide individual legal representation.