One of San Francisco’s most prolific bar owners found himself facing an angry mob of Redditors on Wednesday afternoon after a commenter alleged that they were shamed for leaving a 14% tip on a drink at Rickhouse near Union Square.
“The owner of Rickhouse bar in SF is trying to tip shame me for leaving a $2 tip on a $14 drink. Was I supposed to tip more for one drink? What’s the required tip?” read the post from Reddit user youyouxue, which garnered more than 1,200 comments before being deleted. The post included what appeared to be a screenshot of an email from the bar owner to the Reddit user regarding the tip amount.
Redditors proceeded to rage against Brian Sheehy — who owns Rickhouse and a dozen other popular San Francisco bars, including Bourbon & Branch, the Dawn Club, and Local Edition — threatening to boycott all of his businesses.
“All my homies hate Brian,” posted Reddit user mdavis360.
“Hey Brian, I know you are reading this … you suuuck,” chimed in WinstonChurshill.
But the inflammatory Reddit post only skims the surface of the real drama: one man’s over-the-top legal battle against his fellow Bay Area restaurant and bar owners.
As The Standard reported in May, You You Xue has filed dozens of lawsuits against San Francisco businesses that charge mandatory fees and service charges. Often, the controversial fees are used to cover the cost of city-mandated health coverage for employees.
As Reddit sleuths uncovered, Xue is not just an outraged bar patron; he’s also the owner of a Millbrae restaurant — that charges an 18% service fee in lieu of tips.
“Might want to do some research before you jump to conclusion[s]. OP is a known joke,” commented StephenPurdy69. Users surfaced another Reddit post in which Xue discusses suing Costco over its policy prohibiting returns for alcohol.
Court records show that Xue — referred to by his legal name, Alexander — has filed suits in San Francisco Superior Court as recently as Aug. 1. At that time, he filed two on the same day: against Aaha Indian Cuisine, located at 3316 17th St., and Cesario’s, at 601 Sutter St.
In almost every case, Xue alleges that the businesses knowingly defrauded him by charging a percentage-based fee on top of mandatory sales tax, which is 8.625% in San Francisco. As is often the case with such claims, they take issue with almost laughably small amounts of money: $6.69 in one case and $5.57 in another.
When reached by phone Wednesday afternoon, Xue acknowledged posting the screenshots to Reddit but declined to speak on the record with The Standard.
Reached by phone Thursday morning, Sheehy declined to comment about the post.
The list of businesses entangled in litigation with Xue includes many of the city’s most well-regarded restaurants: legendary cioppino destination Sotto Mare, Routier, Michelin-starred Osito, San Tung, and Boudin Bakery’s flagship at Fisherman’s Wharf. The Standard spoke with two additional business owners who are being sued by Xue, both of whom declined to speak on the record due to the ongoing litigation.
Phil Chen owns several San Francisco bars, including Members Only, Finders Keepers, and Alchemist Bar & Lounge. He says Xue visited the Alchemist, located on Third Street near Oracle Park, in June. He filed a lawsuit against the business on June 17 over the 4% service fee. As has become the pattern, Xue is demanding several thousands of dollars in damages and that the business stop charging the fee.
“He’s suing us over $1.30 — it’s dollars and cents,” Chen said. “He’s not a person you can reason with.”