Frequently Asked Questions
You Got Questions… We Got Answers
Food & Drink
We believe it’s ok to be indulgent. We like to be open-minded and try different things. We strive to make Mexican-style food, even though we can be excessively cheesy. But at least when we’re being cheesy, we use a variety of local, organic cheeses made from the milk of hormone and antibiotic-free, free-range cows and goats.
We are advocates of the Slow Food movement, making everything in-house and from scratch. We pride ourselves on those dishes that are lightly handled and simple, as well as the intricate flavors in recipes that make Casa what it is. Seasonality has always been our specialty.
We continue to network with as many producers of local, sustainable, and organic foods as we can in order to bolster our local economy, while at the same time keeping things affordable for our customers.
We strive to be as transparent as we can with our customers, to educate them as well as our own staff. Cheers to healthy and happy meals always!
This is false! We do have a wide selection of vegetarian and vegan items available– in fact, most of our entrées can be made vegetarian or vegan easily. But that doesn’t mean we don’t serve tasty, amazing meats!
A common misconception! We serve sustainable, humanely raised meat from local farms.
Yes, we have lots of gluten-free options! Nachos, dips, salads, tacos, and enchiladas are just a few of them. Look for the Gluten-Free symbol all-over our Menu!
You can also email us at food@casanueva.com with any questions or for more specific details.
Oh, no, no, no, it’s definitely not true. While our soysage is indeed vegan, the gravy is anything but. It’s full of rich, certified chemical free butter from Hartzler Dairy’s free-range cows and luscious non-homogenized, rbST-free whole milk from Snowville Creamery.
By all means, indulge if you are vegetarian or a meat-lover. And if you’re vegan, may we suggest trying our vegan cheese? It’s made in house with nutritional yeast, lemon juice, tahini, jalapeño and bell peppers, and more!
We take dietary restriction, preferences, and food allergies very seriously. All of our ingredients are listed and available for those who have any questions.
Please let your server or bartender know of any allergies when you order so we can let our cooks know.
While we have wheat, nut, dairy, and other products on hand and in use, we take every precaution to avoid cross contamination and strive to provide every guest with a safe and delicious food experience.
Liquor infusions are one of the more delicious ways to enjoy this spirit. Our Cantina Coordinator takes fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs, and other ingredients (or curiosities, considering the bacon and bubblegum vodkas we’ve featured in the past) and steeps them in vodka until they are ripe and ready to be consumed.
Examples include a chipotle infused bloody Mary, or our spicy margarita with local pepper infused tequila.
They are certainly tasty as a shot or on the rocks, but we recommend trying them in any of our signature drinks. Mmm! We are always looking for suggestions!
Yes! We take reservations for any day or time that our kitchen is open.
Reservations are always suggested, but definitely recommended on weekends (and most evenings!). Our maximum party size at a table is 10, so if your group is larger than 10 and you are willing to split up, please call us or make reservations online.
Worker-Ownership
Technically speaking, a cooperative is any business organization which is owned and controlled by its members. The members are those who participate in the business as consumers, workers, or producers. Membership usually requires the payment of a membership fee. The profits are distributed to the members on the basis of patronage (buying at, working at, or selling through the business). Control of the business is exercised by the members through democratic election of the Board of Directors on a one-person/one vote basis.
A co-op is a nice alternative to a conventional business. A conventional business is owned by outside shareholders. The shareholders may have more control over the business based on the amount of money they’ve invested and they may not have anything to do with using the goods and services of the business.
A worker-owned co-op is a business where the workers of the cooperative have joined together to produce goods and/or services for sale. The workers, being the only members of the cooperative, elect the Board of Directors and share whatever profits are earned by the business.
There are many differences between worker-owners and associates, from responsibilities to benefits.
Associates are employees with a responsibility toward their job(s). They are scheduled according to the needs of our business, but they may ask for time off when they need it (and they’ll likely get it based on hours worked). They are responsible for being on time and ready to work their shifts, as well as attending mandatory meetings. Although they always have a voice that will be heard, they do not have a vote in any formal decision-making.
Worker-owners are responsible for everything that an associate is, plus they have chosen to buy a share of the business. With that share comes one vote in the decision-making process that helps shape our business. Worker-owners are expected to be excellent problem solvers, ready to jump in and help out whenever there are issues or needs, and to be extremely knowledgeable about many aspects of our business. They need to be informed about what’s going on in order to make educated decisions.
When an associate decides to take the step into worker ownership, there is an application and trial process, which involves lots of committee meetings, workshops, and one-on-one sit-downs with current worker owners.
The process can take 4-8 months. Once and associate has been voted into full membership, there’s a financial buy-in and benefits that come with achieving worker-owner status
From Casa’s inception in 1985 until 2001, Casa operated using the consensus decision making process, which requires all owners to agree to make a change. Around 2001, membership reached a high of 45 owners and cooperative education began to fall away. Some of the owners at the time are reported as having difficult personalities, and power plays during member meetings were common.
A few worker owners got fed up with the situation, and decided to deal with it by changing Casa’s decision making parameters from consensus to a super-majority voting system that required 76% approval during the first meeting. If the vote could not be won during that first meeting, it could go to a second meeting where only 51% approval would be needed. In this way, membership thought it would be easier to agree, in that they could ignore the concerns of up to 49% of membership.
Casa operated under that super-majority system until 2009, when newer owners who were dedicated to reinvigorating the original ideals of cooperation and equality created a proposal to change our decision making parameters back to the consensus model. We believe that this model promotes cooperation and equality by requiring all perspectives and opinions to have equal weight, unlike voting by majority, which promotes competition and alienates those whose ideas are less popular.
Microwaves
In fact, you won’t find a single microwave in our kitchens. We could reference you to any number of webpages that would tell you why any number of people think that microwaves are bad. We could push for all sorts of reasons why microwaves are bad for your health, the environment, etc. We’ll let you do your own research on this one, and we always encourage you to formulate your own opinion.
We just really value a slow-cooked meal, and the flavors that are created when using traditional equipment to cook with. Microwaves tend to make certain foods undesirably soggy, chewy, tough, crunchy, or unevenly cooked. Our convection ovens may take longer to cook your food, but they create thoroughly cooked items with perfect textures and flavors. Since that’s the kind of food we like to eat, that’s the kind of food we like to serve.
Televisions
So we’re not a great place to go and watch the game, unless you have a laptop or a smartphone. But we are a great place to have really stimulating conversation, see some interesting local art, or see a lot of live music. See? We don’t need tvs. Not when we have each other.
Firearms
We do not allow firearms in our establishment.
Tips
No-Tipping Policy
As of September 1, 2012 the worker-owners of Casa Nueva Restaurant and Cantina initiated a new practice of not accepting tips from customers. Many food and beverage establishments across the United States have a no-tipping policy. For some, this is an easier way for the food and beverage operators to price their menus and services and still pay a decent living wage to everyone on their staff.
To be in compliance with the FLSA we created new prices that cover both the menu item and the service. Many of the price increases were subtle, based on the previous tip averages and our cost of goods and labor expense. Maybe you experienced some pricing shock, but remember that this price includes our cost of service to you and you can no longer leave a tip.
More and more restaurants are changing the way they pay for providing service. Some have a price-inclusive menu, like Casa, while other charge a service fee in lieu of accepting tips. A short list includes the North Star Cafe in Columbus, Black Star Co-op in Austin, Texas; The Linkery in San Diego; and Yuka in New York City. Chez Panisse is an example of a fine-dining establishment that has been a no-tipping restaurant for many years.
If you forget and leave cash on the table or bar, Casa will donate the money directly to a local charity of our choice. We chose a different charity each month.
Since our formation, Casa has valued everyone’s role in bringing you the best Casa experience. As a cooperative business, we do not want to favor one person’s role over another, but rather pay a fair wage to everyone whether they are waiting, tending bar, cooking, or doing dishes. We value versatility and job rotation. Each employee may perform many different jobs that contribute to the success of our business.
There are several interesting articles on-line about this subject:
- A New York Times Sunday Magazine article about the Linkery, in San Diego.
- This installment of Ask a Waiter provides a though-provoking analysis of the tipping practice.
- The New York Times provides a pretty accurate overview of the state of tipping.
- Here’s an article from the Chicago Tribune explaining why eliminating tipping won’t work at restaurants such as ours, even though “the idea has merit.”
- Finally, a blogger’s well-written reaction to the Chicago Tribune article above.
Cooperatives
Yes! There are three broad categories of cooperatives – worker cooperatives, consumer cooperatives, and marketing cooperatives.
A. Worker Cooperatives are cooperatives in which the members have joined together to produce goods and/or services for sale. The workers, being the only members of the cooperative, elect the Board of Directors and share whatever profits are earned by the business.
B. Consumer Cooperatives are cooperatives whose members have joined together in order to purchase goods and/or services. The most familiar consumer cooperatives are those established to provide food and housing. Credit unions are specialized cooperatives, designed for the banking industry.
C. Marketing Cooperatives are cooperatives whose members are privately owned businesses or individual business people who join together to sell their products or services collectively. These cooperatives range in size from a storefront craft cooperative to the large agricultural marketing cooperatives like Oceanspray.
No! Worker cooperatives have been in operation since the late 1700’s. The movement started in the British Isles but soon spread to other parts of Europe and to the United States. Today you will find cooperatives operating successfully throughout Europe, Scandinavia, and the Americas. In the Mondragon region in Spain a complex of seventy-six co-ops is in operation with over 15,000 members. In the United States the most successful worker cooperatives are found in the Pacific Northwest where eighteen cooperatively owned companies supply eight percent of the nation’s plywood.
During the early days of the American labor movement, there was a very close relationship. For example, by the 1880’s over one hundred cooperatives had been established by the Order of the Knights of Labor. At one point in the 1880’s the national membership of the Knights voted to reserve 60 percent of its money for starting cooperatives, 30 percent for a strike fund and 10 percent for education. Since the turn of the century the American labor movement has concentrated on improving the working conditions in privately owned companies.
There are at least three sets of circumstances looked upon as favorable for the establishment of worker cooperatives – start-ups, conversions, and plant closings.
A. A start-up is a business situation where a group of workers decide to start a business together.
B. A conversion is one in which the owner of a healthy company decides to sell the business to the workers.
C. Plant closings refer to the situation where a conglomerate has closed a viable company for reasons other than financial potential.
There are at least 6 ways that cooperatives raise money:
A. Membership fees. Worker/members will usually have to invest capital in the form of membership fees to start the business. As new worker/members join the firm they pay an equal amount or percentage as a membership fee. Payments are sometimes made through payroll deductions. When a worker retires from the firm, the membership fee is returned, assuming the company has been profitable.
B. Reinvestment of Profits. Each year the cooperative must decide what to do with the money that is left after payment of expenses. Given the need for capital, particularly in the first years of the business, the majority of the surplus will probably be reinvested in the business in order to promote steady, healthy growth of the company. All reinvested funds will be allocated to the internal accounts of the members on the basis of patronage, and eventually it will be paid out to members.
C. National Cooperative Bank and the National Cooperative Bank Development Corporation both provide debt and equity financing to worker cooperatives and ESOP’s.
D. Commercial Banks. Cooperatives can also sometimes borrow from commercial banks.
E. Specialized Community Development Funds. Some state and local governments have established funds for the development of businesses that are more broadly owned than the normal business corporations. These “community development funds” often have guidelines, which make their use by worker cooperatives possible.
F. Churches, Foundations and Other Private Groups. These organizations often devote a portion of their funds to community economic development, and usually view worker cooperatives as eligible for funding, particularly through their loan funds. Examples of such groups are the Industrial Cooperative Association, the North Court Development Fund, the Campaign for Human Development, and the Cooperative Assistance Fund.
No. In such a situation the workers would lose their membership fee and any profits accumulated in their internal accounts. However, there is no additional financial liability.
Huh?
Yes we are! We have an entrance/exit with a ramp in the Cantina, as well as a ramp into the restaurant.
Eden Marketing, based right here in Athens, Ohio.
Rex says, “Well, as far as Casa goes, yeah, it was formerly sometimes used as an all-purpose noun, like “thingamajig” or the like. Even then, however, it usually referred to some kind of container or vessel.
“‘THE hamils’ used to refer to the bus tubs when I started working here in 1990; wait staff would yell “HAMILS!” at the dishwasher when they were full. But at the same time, a bain might be called a “metal bean hamil,” and sour cream hamils were called sour cream hamils…
“In terms of spelling, Casatrons have spelled it both ‘hamel’ and ‘hamil.’ I’ve heard one or two old timers say they’d heard it used similarly as a term for a vessel when working in NYC.
“Back before internet info availability I looked it up in one of those big unabridged dictionaries. My memory of this is:
spelling: hamal
origin: Arabic
definition: a water bearer (person who hauls water), or the vessel used for hauling water.
“I can’t remember when/where it was theorized to have entered English language usage.”
Probably. We do a lot of hiring here because our business is always growing. And a lot of our staff are students who leave us after only a few years. If you are interested in a job at Casa, come in and grab an application, or fill out our Online Employment Application Here.
From Rex:
“‘Waitron’ is a term I’ve encountered in the restaurant industry at large, sort of a robotic-sounding, non-gender-specific version of ‘waiter/waitress’. ‘Server’ is probably more popular in the industry because it is gender-neutral and has a more human feel.
“As far as ‘casatron’ goes, I’m pretty sure I coined this term, and I find my self-restraint in not constantly telling people so quite admirable. But maybe I didn’t… I was inspired by the word ‘waitron’, and it’s easier to say than ‘worker-owner’ or ‘casanian’ (yes, I’ve seen this used) as a demonym. Is that the right word?
“Hey, when I ran a spell check to see if demonym was a/the word I wanted, the spellchecker suggested ‘Castro’ in place of ‘casatron’!”
“Waitron” can be thought of as a counterpart to “Patron.” The customer is the “Patron” and the server is the “Waitron.” There’s a great discussion about “trons” on Chowhound if you’d like to check that out.