Florida - $5 Valet charge at Bern's

Bern's steakhouse in Tampa is one of my favorite restaurants. I haven't been there in 2+ years as I haven't been to the area much in the last couple of years.

I was in Tampa last week and decided to dine there. Pulled up to the restaurant and there is a sign informing me of a $5 valet charge. I spent about $250 that night including a post-dinner stop upstairs in the dessert pod.

Yet the $5 valet charge was ridiculous. Yes I know it's only $5. But that's the point. When spending $100+ on a meal, don't nickel and dime me for an extra $5 to park my car.

Maybe my memory is misleading but I don't think it used to cost anything for valet. It has been a while but I'm quite sure parking was free.

My guess is that Bern's has farmed out their valet operation to an outside vendor.

Also, their reasoning may be that, because a certain amount of their patronage is made up of visitors who arrive and depart via cab, they valet charge means that only those using the parking service pay for it - in other words, the cost is not passed on to all diners via higher menu prices.

Having said that, I don't say that I agree with 100% of that reasoning. Does Bern's offer self-parking?

I don't think Bern's has other parking than valet. And street parking, while an option, is pretty hard to find in the area, especially on a Friday/Saturday night.

They do have self-parking. It's right across the street. But it fills up quickly. The only time we seem to be able to get in the free lot is close to opening.

AFAIR Bern's has always charged for valet. I was upset when it went from $4 to $5 a few years ago.