Cashless restaurants like Tender Greens are rising in number

In January, Starbucks made one of its shops in its hometown of Seattle cashless, and Shake Shack, the gourmet hamburger chain, began testing cashless kiosks at its Astor Place restaurant in New York City in October. Both chains declined to discuss their experiments.SPONSORED BY GUNDRY MDUS Cardiologist: I Urge Americans To Quit These 3 FoodsSee more →Restaurant owners say ordering is faster from customers who slap down plastic instead of dollars, cutting a few seconds out of the process. But most of the benefits appear to accrue to the restaurants: less time taken counting bills, reduced pilferage, no armored-car fees or fear of stickups.It’s a risky strategy. For starters, upscale Millennials — among the most coveted of diners because of their youth and affluence — prefer to pay in cash, according to Bankrate.com data. Also, more than a third of Americans between the ages of 18 and 37 do not have a credit card.For customers, patronizing restaurants that don’t take cash means one less payment option when they need a quick meal during an all-too-short lunch hour. Plus, it raises questions about whether it discriminates against cardless teens and the poor.Miah Daughtery took to social media in the fall after encountering the policy at a Sweetgreen restaurant in Washington, D.C.”There’s an assumption that people have a credit or debit card on them. If I didn’t, does that mean I wouldn’t be able to get lunch?” said Daughtery, 38.She added that her parents grew up in an era when cash was king, so they would potentially be out of luck, too.A committee in Chicago is weighing Alderman Edward Burke’s proposed requirement that merchants accept cash. Massachusetts has had a Discrimination Against Cash Buyers rule on the books since 1978.

 

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