We Checked the Numbers at John’s Food & Wine, Where Counter Service Is King

Restaurant guests today must often pay a service fee before they even meet their servers. They do so on ticketing platforms like Tock, they do so at fast-casual operations like Shake Shack, and they do so at John’s Food & Wine—a Chicago sensation that has fans returning for everything from its innovative wine program to its nonpareil french fries. 

When old friends and Gramercy Tavern alums...