DENVER – A popular Colorado bagel shop is no longer accepting tips, saying the move is to create a better customer experience.

Moe’s Broadway Bagel, which operates seven locations in the Front Range, recently eliminated tips at all locations and instead gave its employees hefty raises and higher prices on its menu items. Katie Barnes, assistant manager of the Moe’s Grant Street location, told Denver7 that management informed employees of the change during a recent staff meeting.

We asked Steve Pagnotta, the bagel chain’s general manager, about the decision. He said the restaurant is anticipating “tip fatigue,” a term that is increasingly entering common parlance as customers increasingly expect to tip for goods and services.

“We wanted to be ahead of the curve,” Pagnotta said. “So (…) we gave the entire staff pretty big raises, 20 (to) 30%, and eliminated tips. (…) We just wanted the customer to know what the cost was, what the bottom line was.”

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Eliminating tipping is “new territory” for Pagnotta, whose bagel business has been in business for over thirty years. But he says it’s “the right thing to do.”

“The goal is the customer experience,” he said. “We just want to try to create an experience for the customer that works better for them. What you see is what you get.”

Barnes said the news initially came as a shock when Moe’s CEO Peter Sherman announced it, but it does level the playing field for employees like her who may work the quieter days of the week and receive less in tips than their colleagues who work the busier weekend days.

“I actually feel really good” about the change, Barnes told Denver7.

Of course, there are differing views on the move away from tipping. A recent thread on the online forum Reddit lamented the ever-increasing menu prices, which have risen to $15 for a sandwich and $12 for a burrito at the Grant Street branch.

One customer we spoke to at the Grant Street store on Wednesday said the change was “bittersweet,” with even tip jars being removed from the counters.

“It’s a pretty tough debate,” the woman, whose name is Megan, told Denver7. “If they raise wages, I think that’s great, but I think tipping should be an option too, especially if you have great customer service. So, I think it’s a little bittersweet.”