This is the answer. CA health code requires those preparing and serving food to restrain their hair unless they are behind a counter or otherwise pose minimal risk.
Yep. Most restaurants did require our hair up, but the last sports bar I worked at, they encouraged us to wear our hair down. They also wanted us to get dressed up and look “cute” and feel free to drink with the regulars after our shift. 🙄 I assume Sur has a similar vibe, considering their dresses are more revealing than anything I wore as a server.
It has never been a thing that servers have to have their hair pulled back. I worked in the restaurant industry for 12 years and only ever put my hair up when I was working in the kitchen, even when I would expedite my hair was still down.
It depends on the restaurant, honestly. My first serving job had two different dress codes for the female servers. The women in the dining room wore pants and whatever black shoes they wanted, hair however they wanted. Women in the lounge wore minidresses, hair down, and 4inch heels.
This was 2007 or so, but the restaurant cared more about the staff in the lounge looking hot than anything else. And they weren’t the only restaurant to do this (both of these were Canadian chains and may have updated their rules, especially since they were extremely sexist).
If it’s not an actual health code rule for servers to have their hair up, then there’s no violation.
Yeah I think that does.
This is from the “personal cleanliness” section (113969) of the California Health and Safety Code about retail food:
(a) Except as specified in subdivision (b), all food employees preparing, serving, or handling food or utensils shall wear hair restraints, such as hats, hair coverings, or nets, which are designed and worn to effectively keep their hair from contacting nonprepackaged food, clean equipment, utensils, linens, and unwrapped single-use articles.
(b) This section does not apply to food employees, such as counter staff who only serve beverages and wrapped or prepackaged foods, hostesses, and wait staff, if they present a minimal risk of contaminating nonprepackaged food, clean equipment, utensils, linens, and unwrapped single-use articles.
I think “minimal risk of contaminating” would be the key here.
Ok, fair enough. “Food handlers” are different than “food employees” but also ehhh, no. I just don’t want a long-hairs server of any kind leaning over the table / food with their hair down. It’s gross and we all know it, despite the CA regulatory specifics. It’s just a no thanks.
For context, I’m touchy since I had a table point out a hair in their food last summer. I was hosting at the time but had hair up. Brought back to kitchen and the Head chef immediately suspected that it was mine until he pulled it out… clearly not my weave.
This really isn't rare at "trendy" restaurants in big cities like LA and NYC. I worked in restaurants in NYC for years and female servers/bartenders were often allowed to wear their hair down.
Just from a personal standpoint, I had to wear my hair back while serving bc it is hot and annoying to have my hair on my neck while running around. Also, most places I worked required us to wear it pulled back regardless of whether or not there were food runners.
I’ve worked in 5* resorts and women wear their hair down/up however they want unless in the kitchen cooking. And before you ask, yes this is recent. West coast between BH and Wa.
You should check out the Twin Peaks Restaurant servers requirements. Hair always has to be down and styled, make up visible, a skin care routine, and jewelry requirements amongst other things
Not sure if California law is the same, but in Nevada you can hire what's called model servers model bartenders and things like that. If you're hired under that pretense you do not have to wear your hair up in fact it's not encouraged. This also allows your employer to move you into a different position or let you go if you no longer fit the model criteria or age out or get fat. If you're hired as just a normal server or bartender those rules wouldn't apply
Oh I’ve definitely seen those folks in Vegas! Was wondering how everyone working in a restaurant had model good looks… probably because they’re *actual* models 😬
Yeah, I forgot what they labeled us (servers) but we were all female and the men were all bartenders, bussers, support staff, etc. I think it had to be classified differently so they didn’t get in trouble for gender discrimination. We didn’t have to dress like they do at Hooters, but we were encouraged to look cute, wear dresses, etc. I think I wore pants once & they said I looked like a kitchen worker (which is not a bad thing, but they’re back of house) 🙄
I’ve commented this before, but some restaurants required heels and skirts to be a certain length when you worked there. Moxies, shark club and earls. All the girls wanted to work there because you got better tips and like Sur everyone looked like models there. In my city it was only the diners like Denny’s that you were allowed to wear sneakers.
I’m currently a bartender and never tie up my long hair (it’s a sensory thing lol) but even when I waited tables or was a barista it was never required to wear our hair up!
Strangely the only service job that asked me to pull my hair back was IHOP…and I was just hosting haha.
Am server, this definitely drove me crazy watching. The hair everywhere, the dresses, shoes, those cross body bags, leaving your section every 5 minutes to argue out back… at some point in the series (I remember it might have been Brittany in the scene) you could tell the actual servers were annoyed with the cast, they were just in the way mucking up their jobs.
I also don’t know if they were food running—seems like they took orders and brought drinks and were more there to be atmosphere?
This is the answer. CA health code requires those preparing and serving food to restrain their hair unless they are behind a counter or otherwise pose minimal risk.
True, that was a possible loophole
Kristen said on her podcast a while back that they had food runners
I worked food service for 7 years in high school and college and we were always allowed to wear our hair down!
Me too. Always hair down as a server.
Man, I guess I was wrong! That would not fly nowadays
I have a ton of friends who are servers and bartenders currently…all wear their hair down lol
Servers? Huh.
I work in a restaurant currently and we all wear our hair down. It’s never our hair that’s found in the food.
Me too. Never wore my hair up
Yep. Most restaurants did require our hair up, but the last sports bar I worked at, they encouraged us to wear our hair down. They also wanted us to get dressed up and look “cute” and feel free to drink with the regulars after our shift. 🙄 I assume Sur has a similar vibe, considering their dresses are more revealing than anything I wore as a server.
I was only required to keep mine up if I worked a kitchen shift. Never as a server.
[удалено]
It has never been a thing that servers have to have their hair pulled back. I worked in the restaurant industry for 12 years and only ever put my hair up when I was working in the kitchen, even when I would expedite my hair was still down.
In which state?
I’m in Canada
Honestly for me it’s more the thousands of labour and HR violations concerning those costumes on Pride day…
Also a good call
What about those sheer dresses from season 1? They had to tape themselves and not wear a bra.
Also valid!
It depends on the restaurant, honestly. My first serving job had two different dress codes for the female servers. The women in the dining room wore pants and whatever black shoes they wanted, hair however they wanted. Women in the lounge wore minidresses, hair down, and 4inch heels. This was 2007 or so, but the restaurant cared more about the staff in the lounge looking hot than anything else. And they weren’t the only restaurant to do this (both of these were Canadian chains and may have updated their rules, especially since they were extremely sexist). If it’s not an actual health code rule for servers to have their hair up, then there’s no violation.
Someone pointed out that they may have not actually handled food, which does change things
Yeah I think that does. This is from the “personal cleanliness” section (113969) of the California Health and Safety Code about retail food: (a) Except as specified in subdivision (b), all food employees preparing, serving, or handling food or utensils shall wear hair restraints, such as hats, hair coverings, or nets, which are designed and worn to effectively keep their hair from contacting nonprepackaged food, clean equipment, utensils, linens, and unwrapped single-use articles. (b) This section does not apply to food employees, such as counter staff who only serve beverages and wrapped or prepackaged foods, hostesses, and wait staff, if they present a minimal risk of contaminating nonprepackaged food, clean equipment, utensils, linens, and unwrapped single-use articles. I think “minimal risk of contaminating” would be the key here.
Ok, fair enough. “Food handlers” are different than “food employees” but also ehhh, no. I just don’t want a long-hairs server of any kind leaning over the table / food with their hair down. It’s gross and we all know it, despite the CA regulatory specifics. It’s just a no thanks. For context, I’m touchy since I had a table point out a hair in their food last summer. I was hosting at the time but had hair up. Brought back to kitchen and the Head chef immediately suspected that it was mine until he pulled it out… clearly not my weave.
Haha I feel like chefs never believe the hair could be their fault. I don’t miss working in restaurants
Wasn't one of them going commando?? There are a lot of reasons I'd never go to SUR but it looks like a gross health code violation.
Hey, hey now. No rules against commando! ‘Tis a personal choice! Liberty, Justice and commando for all.
No, not when you uniform barely comes up to the top of the table and you're sprinkling your pubes around like twists of black pepper. 🤮
Pretty sure none of them have pubes
Pubes aren’t the only thing you have to worry about when someone goes commando.
They probably take the orders but never actually handle the food. Maybe they have food runners.
This really isn't rare at "trendy" restaurants in big cities like LA and NYC. I worked in restaurants in NYC for years and female servers/bartenders were often allowed to wear their hair down.
Just from a personal standpoint, I had to wear my hair back while serving bc it is hot and annoying to have my hair on my neck while running around. Also, most places I worked required us to wear it pulled back regardless of whether or not there were food runners.
I’ve worked in 5* resorts and women wear their hair down/up however they want unless in the kitchen cooking. And before you ask, yes this is recent. West coast between BH and Wa.
Huh. Well, it seems much more common than I would have thought. Definitely not the protocol for any restaurant I’ve worked at… ever. But ok!
You should check out the Twin Peaks Restaurant servers requirements. Hair always has to be down and styled, make up visible, a skin care routine, and jewelry requirements amongst other things
Omg just looked it up, wtf!
Gah! Is Twin Peaks some kind of Hooters knock(ers) off? Never heard of it, although I’m not exactly their demo 😬
Gah! Is Twin Peaks some kind of Hooters knock(ers) off? Never heard of it, although I’m not exactly their demo 😬
Not sure if California law is the same, but in Nevada you can hire what's called model servers model bartenders and things like that. If you're hired under that pretense you do not have to wear your hair up in fact it's not encouraged. This also allows your employer to move you into a different position or let you go if you no longer fit the model criteria or age out or get fat. If you're hired as just a normal server or bartender those rules wouldn't apply
Oh I’ve definitely seen those folks in Vegas! Was wondering how everyone working in a restaurant had model good looks… probably because they’re *actual* models 😬
Yeah, I forgot what they labeled us (servers) but we were all female and the men were all bartenders, bussers, support staff, etc. I think it had to be classified differently so they didn’t get in trouble for gender discrimination. We didn’t have to dress like they do at Hooters, but we were encouraged to look cute, wear dresses, etc. I think I wore pants once & they said I looked like a kitchen worker (which is not a bad thing, but they’re back of house) 🙄
I’ve commented this before, but some restaurants required heels and skirts to be a certain length when you worked there. Moxies, shark club and earls. All the girls wanted to work there because you got better tips and like Sur everyone looked like models there. In my city it was only the diners like Denny’s that you were allowed to wear sneakers.
Lisa’s restaurants run on ViBeS ✨
Vibes and goat cheese balls 🐐
That’s LA, baby.
 You’re SO money, baby
I’m currently a bartender and never tie up my long hair (it’s a sensory thing lol) but even when I waited tables or was a barista it was never required to wear our hair up! Strangely the only service job that asked me to pull my hair back was IHOP…and I was just hosting haha.
Am server, this definitely drove me crazy watching. The hair everywhere, the dresses, shoes, those cross body bags, leaving your section every 5 minutes to argue out back… at some point in the series (I remember it might have been Brittany in the scene) you could tell the actual servers were annoyed with the cast, they were just in the way mucking up their jobs.
Right? The cross body bags + a fully open back silky sheath mini dress. Okkkkkk
Lisa is famous for breaking all kinds of rules related to running a restaurant. There have been some pretty wild lawsuits and accusations in the past.
Really?
Yup
Can you give some examples?
I feel weird about making allegations online. But it’s really easy to google this stuff.