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New Rule Means Diners Will Have To Request Water

Tribune file photo by MICHAEL SPOONEYBARGER (2008)

Under a new rule from the Southwest Florida Water Management District, restaurants in a 7-county area will begin providing water to patrons only on request.

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By JACKIE BARRON, News Channel 8

Published: March 25, 2009

SARASOTA - Soaking up the Florida sun at a Sarasota restaurant may work up a thirst.

But don't wait for someone to automatically bring water. Servers won't start emptying the water pitchers unless customers ask for it.

It's a new rule impacting seven counties facing severe drought conditions. Those counties are Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Manatee, Sarasota, DeSoto and Charlotte.

Troy Syprett, who owns several restaurants on Siesta Key, said he has not yet received any official word about the latest restriction from the Southwest Florida Water Management District.

The agency said it's still drafting a notification letter, expected to hit the mail in the next couple of weeks.

Syprett said that for his restaurants it doesn't really matter.

"Typically in most casual dining and fast-food restaurants you do not serve customers water when they're first seated," he said. "If you're providing people with free water when they're first sitting down to dine they're less likely to order nonalcoholic beverages."

The new rule does impact fine dining where water used to wait for customers on pre-set tables.

Brian Mattison, owner of Mattison's Forty-One, said the change means offering customers an explanation. "We're trying to explain to them what's going on."

He made changes at his restaurant after receiving a kind of heads-up letter from the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association.

He believes that the rule will not only save water, but also money.

"I was working for a nationwide restaurant company in the '70s that chose to stop serving water except on request," Mattison said. "And it saved about $500,000 a month in glassware usage, ice and the water bill."

Reporter Jackie Barron can be reached at (813) 221-5708.

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