Those extra fees that appear on receipts, sometimes labeled as “kitchen appreciation,” “courtesy charge” or simply “fees,” are paid by consumers nationwide – including La Plata County.
Often called “junk fees,” these small, extra charges can add up, costing consumers significant amounts of money over time.
A new Colorado law, HB25-1090, went into effect Jan. 1 that requires businesses and landlords to display full and complete costs upfront in an effort to eliminate undisclosed charges. But the law does not prohibit junk fees, so long as they are disclosed.
A range of local food and drink businesses charge various junk fees or surcharges, including Steamworks, El Moro Spirits and Tavern, Cream Bean Berry and The Diamond Belle Saloon.
A 3% “livable wage” fee is tacked onto bills at Peak Food and Beverage-owned restaurants, including El Moro and Steamworks, but not HomeSlice.
The charge is added in an effort to pay employees fairly without raising menu prices, said Kris Oyler, Peak Food and Beverage co-founder and CEO.
“It’s a way that we can avoid raising prices after COVID and with minimum wage requirements where they are and the housing difficulties we have in our area,” he said. “It’s expensive to run a restaurant. ... We do that so as not to raise prices on everything, because that’s going to affect everybody.”
If a customer – a local or a visitor – requests the surcharge be removed, the two restaurants will do so, Oyler said.
“We try to take care of everybody, whether a local or a tourist,” he said.
The Doughworks menu warns customers that a 3% “inflationary surcharge” will be added to all items. Doughworks owner Robert Ziegler said that despite the fee being listed on the menu, the 3% charge has not actually been added to any orders.
“I put it on the menu, but I’m trying really hard not to do it,” Ziegler said in an email to the Herald. “Instead, we just lost a ton of money last year, straight out of my pocket to keep the business open. Everything is way more expense than even two years ago, (like) labor, ingredients, taxes, licenses, repairs, professional fees.”
A manager with the Diamond Belle Saloon confirmed that the Saloon adds a 3% back of house service charge on every receipt, and said the charge is stated upfront on the menu.
The manager declined to comment further on the charge.
A customer at Mama Silvia’s said an added $4 “convenience fee” was tacked onto their bill, and that an employee reportedly said it was to offset operational costs without updating menu prices. Several other residents reported the same fee.
Mama Silvia’s did not respond to several requests for comment.
A customer at Happy Pappy's Pizza-n-Wings reported a “hospitality fee” having appeared on a receipt. The restaurant did not immediately respond to request for comment.
Cream Bean Berry was found to be charging credit card surcharges on purchases made with a debit card as recently as early February.
While it is legal to charge a customer a credit surcharge if under 2%, the surcharges have been applied to some debit card purchases, which is generally not allowed under Colorado law.
The law states, in part, that businesses must post signage on the premises visible to customers that discloses the added cost, and that a surcharge cannot be applied to purchases made with cash, check, a debit card or a gift card.
A receipt from a Feb. 8 Cream Bean Berry transaction made with a debit card – not a credit card – shows a 46 cent “credit fee” added to a $14.71 total.
Cream Bean Berry owner Katie Burford told the Herald that while she was aware of the surcharge – which was configured by the store’s credit card processor, eMerchant Authority – she did not know that state law generally forbids applying a fee to debit purchases.
“I know ignorance of the law isn’t an excuse, and now that I’m aware of the issue, I’m taking immediate steps to ensure the charge is no longer added to any purchase,” she said in an email to the Herald. “... I feel terrible about this, and I want to be clear: our customers’ trust means everything to us, and I take full responsibility for making it right.”
A Durango resident who requested anonymity said she saw similar credit charges appearing on purchases made with a debit card at Chapman Hill and the ice rink.
City attorneys told the Herald that an exception associated with C.R.S § 5-2-212 – under C.R.S. § 29-11.5-103 – allows for a local government, like a city or county, to charge a convenience fee if a customer uses an “alternative form of payment” (anything other than cash or check), so long as the fee is only enough to cover the processing cost.
A sign is visible at Chapman Hill and the ice rink disclosing the surcharge, but it states that customers will only be charged for “credit card transactions” and does not mention that the fee also applies to debit purchases.
City spokesman Tom Sluis said the city plans to update the signs to better reflect which forms of payment will incur the surcharge.
A 3% processing fee began being applied on all credit and debit card transactions at most city facilities in 2024. Sluis told the Herald in January 2025 that the fee was implemented in response to the city’s credit card processing vendor newly instituting a 3% fee on each transaction made with a card.
Being that it is a fee initiated by the vendor, it immediately gets passed from the city to the payment processor, and the city does not make additional revenue from the fees, Sluis said in January 2025. He reaffirmed those statements Wednesday.
Several other businesses around town also charge various fees, including Allen Theaters, which applied an untitled $1.50 “fees” charge to a $6 ticket purchased online in early February, according to a digital receipt sent to the Herald.
Though junk fees are most commonly seen in the service industry, the charges can appear on many different transactions – including on rent and utility bill payments, mechanic services and totals for booking lodging.
Business Improvement District Executive Director Tim Walsworth said he understands the frustration some consumers feel when they see junk fees pop up on their receipts but said some industries – especially food and beverage – need the extra fees to keep their businesses above water.
“The margins in food and beverage are super thin,” he said. “And so with that said, and with wages going up pretty dramatically over the past five years – which is a good thing – and all the inflationary costs, those get passed on to the consumer one way or the other.”
According to Walsworth, profits were down 1% to 2% on average among downtown businesses in 2025.
“It's not easy to run a business these days,” he said. “There might be the impression that all these businesses are just rolling in cash, and it’s just not the case. ... I would just encourage you to ask yourself, ‘Is it worth an extra three bucks (in junk fees) to keep these businesses we know and love there for us tomorrow?’ And I would hope, for most people, that the answer to that question would be, ‘Yes.’”
epond@durangoherald.com
