At Faye & Joe’s Southern Bowl, every plate we serve carries more than just food. It carries family history, hard work, and a promise to our customers that we’ll give them something real. Meals made from scratch, rooted in recipes passed down through generations.

But like so many small, family-owned restaurants, what happens behind the scenes matters just as much as what’s on the plate. Costs are up across the board, from food and labor to utilities and added fees. And one of the biggest challenges we face is swipe fees.

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Like most businesses today, the majority of our customers pay with a credit or debit card. And every time they do, we’re charged a fee. That’s expected. What’s not fair is that for years, those fees haven’t just applied to the cost of the meal. We’re also being charged on the sales tax we collect and the tips our employees earn. That’s money we never keep.

Restaurants like ours act as pass-throughs for both taxes and tips. We collect sales tax on behalf of the state and local governments and we distribute tips directly to our staff. Yet, under the current system, we are forced to pay swipe fees on both. And those extra costs add up quickly and ultimately make it harder for us to keep prices affordable for our customers.

That’s why Illinois’ Interchange Fee Prohibition Act matters so much to small, family-owned businesses like ours. It makes a simple, commonsense change and stops credit card companies from charging fees on taxes and tips. And that means real relief for us.

Restaurants operate on thin margins. Every dollar matters. When costs go up, whether it’s food, labor or other fees, we’re forced to make tough decisions. We ask ourselves, should we raise prices, cut jobs or hours, or absorb the extra costs and hope we can stay open in spite of it? Swipe fees have made those decisions harder.

And unfortunately, those costs don’t stay behind the counter. They show up in the menu prices and ultimately impact the families we serve every day. Ending these unnecessary fees is one way to ease that pressure for both businesses and consumers.

Despite that, we’re seeing a wave of misinformation from big banks and credit card companies trying to convince people this law will be bad for businesses, workers, and consumers. They say that customers won’t be able to use their cards the same way, that businesses will struggle to process payments, and that it will impact how workers earn tips. That is simply not true.

The reality is our payment systems already separate the purchase price, taxes, and tips. Think about how customers pay with a card today. They swipe it once and add the tip later. This law doesn’t change that. It just changes how the fees are calculated behind the scenes.

Our customers will still be able to use their cards exactly as they do today, and our employees will still receive their tips. The only difference is that the big banks will no longer to be able to collect fees on that money.

At the end of the day, this issue comes down to fairness.

Small businesses like ours are part of the fabric of our communities. At Southern Bowl, we’ve built something that reflects where we come from and who we serve. We employ local workers, support our families, and create a space where people feel at home.

We’re not asking for special treatment. We’re asking for a level playing field.

The Interchange Fee Prohibition Act is a step in that direction. It helps ensure that Main Street businesses aren’t paying extra fees just to move money that isn’t ours, and it helps keep everyday costs more manageable for the customers who walk through our doors.

At a time when families and small businesses are feeling pressure from every angle, that kind of relief matters. Lawmakers go this one right, now they need to stand firm and make sure it stays that way.

Dorothy and Mike Jones, Owners, Faye & Joe’s Southern Bowl