Golden Corral in Cape Coral removes extra fee following controversy

CAPE CORAL, Fla. A receipt from a local restaurant sparked questions for one Southwest Florida resident.

Lisa Pompei came across a photo on Facebook of a receipt from the Golden Corral on 410 Andalusia Blvd. and noticed an extra 14 cents were added for “local/city fees.”

“I just thought it was wrong, I thought they were taking advantage of the consumer,” Pompei said.

The fee was added by the owner to offset the increase in city fees for drainage, utilities, etc., the restaurant manager said.

But the extra charge is not a county fee, according to county spokeswoman Betsy Clayton.

Golden Corral corporate headquarters said they have no control over what franchise owners include in their fees.

Restaurant owner Earl Wilson told city officials he’ll ask his store managers to remove the line from receipts and incorporate the fees back into the calculation of basic charges as other restaurants do, city spokeswoman Connie Barron said.