Was a restaurant slapped with an extra charge of nearly $1,800 in a single month just because waste collectors needed to unlock a gate? Langer’s Deli, a renowned, long-standing Los Angeles restaurant, saw its October waste disposal bill skyrocket by over 70% compared to the previous month. The primary reason was a surcharge imposed by the waste management company for unlocking the gate to the dumpster enclosure five times a week. Owner Norm Langer called the charge absurd, stating that if the issue isn’t resolved, he might be forced to raise menu prices.
According to a report by ABC7, Athens Services is the company designated by the City of Los Angeles to handle waste disposal in the area where the restaurant is located. Langer stated that after receiving the bill, he contacted the company; they apologized and promised to have the representative responsible for the area get in touch with him, but as of the time of the interview, he was still waiting for a response. He plans to pay the portion of the bill that excludes the surcharge while hoping for a prompt response from the company.
Langer remarked that there are already so many issues to deal with in life, and now even taking out the trash has become a problem. He finds it incomprehensible that the restaurant has to pay nearly $1,800 extra simply because waste collectors need a key to unlock the gate. When ABC7 inquired with Athens Services, the company stated that standard fees apply whenever waste collectors need to unlock an enclosure, regardless of whether a key or a combination lock is used. Langer pointed out that Langer’s Deli is a small family-run restaurant; with costs for ingredients and fuel already rising, the sharp increase in waste disposal fees adds even more pressure to their operations. “How much more cost can a small family restaurant possibly bear?” he wondered, concerned that if the fee issue isn’t settled, the restaurant will have no choice but to pass the cost on to customers through price hikes.