Café Rouge

For the famous restaurant in Hotel Pennsylvania, see Cafe Rouge (Hotel Pennsylvania)

Type Private
Industry Restaurant
Founded 1989
Headquarters London, UK
Parent Tragus Ltd.
Website www.caferouge.co.uk

Café Rouge is a French-styled restaurant chain in the UK, offering an all-day serving of main course meals, lighter snacks and salads as well as an extensive wine list. It is part of a bigger restaurant network owned by Tragus Ltd.

• 1 History
• 2 See also
• 3 References
• 4 External links

History

The business was founded by Roger Myers and Karen Jones as a small restaurant chain in 1989.^[1]

Café Rouge has over 100 sites across the UK. Its covers a range of French classics from croques and baguettes to more substantial meals such as steak frites and bœuf bourguignon. Likewise the wines are all French, many from less known regional producers.^[2]

The restaurant chain gained much exposure after being mentioned often in the 1996 novel Bridget Jones's Diary, with the main character Bridget Jones (and her friends) visiting her local branch of the restaurant regularly throughout the novel.^[3]

In 2008 the company was reported as paying staff less than the legal minimum wage, relying on tips to make up the difference. This led to a campaign in Parliament to make this practice illegal.^[4]

In 2009 the company was found to be threatening to dismiss wait staff who do not get customers to pay tips on credit cards rather than in cash. Credit card tips are used by the company to subsidise wages (which are usually the legal minimum) whereas cash tips go directly to wait staff.^[5] In line with changes to tipping legislation, which came into effect on 1 October 2009, Café Rouge reviewed and updated its policies to ensure that all tips, after a 10% deduction for administrative and other costs paid by credit or debit card, are now distributed through the payroll system to restaurant staff. This is via a TRONC system with 30% going to the kitchen staff, 20% to the bar staff and the remaining 50% to the waiter who served the table. Employees retain any tips in addition to their pay at the rate of the National Minimum Wage.^[6]

See also

• Bella Italia
• Strada

References

External links

• Official site
• Tragus Holdings