Free Webinar
September 22, 2026
10:00am – 11:15am (PST)
The rules around how hospitality workers get paid are shifting – and for on-premise operators, the decisions feel impossible. Service charges, tip pools, auto-grat, and no-tip experiments each come with real trade-offs in labor cost, staff retention, and guest experience. Getting it wrong is expensive. Getting it right can be a genuine competitive advantage.
In this session, Maxwell Park owner and operator Brent Kroll cuts through the noise with a practitioner’s perspective on what these models actually look like in the real world, not in theory. Drawing on firsthand experience navigating compensation model changes, Brent will walk operators through the financial mechanics, the staff dynamics, and the guest communication strategies that determine whether a model shift succeeds or stalls.
This is not a legal briefing. It’s an honest conversation about one of the most consequential operational decisions a beverage-forward business can make and what you need to know before you make it.
Meet The Speaker
Brent Kroll
Proprietor | Sommelier | Founder
After studying business, Brent Kroll became a certified sommelier at age 22 and never looked back. In 2017, he opened Maxwell Park, an acclaimed Washington, D.C. wine bar that has earned multiple Wine Bar of the Year honors from Washingtonian, Washington City Paper, and The Washington Post. Maxwell Park also received a wine program award from the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington in 2019 and was named one of the country’s best bars by Esquire in 2018.
Before founding Maxwell Park, Brent oversaw 16 wine programs for the Neighborhood Restaurant Group, including the award-winning program at D.C.’s historic Iron Gate.
His previous roles include wine director at Adour by Alain Ducasse and Casa Tua in Miami. A 2026 James Beard Award finalist for Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service, Brent was also named a 2018 Food & Wine Sommelier of the Year and a 2014 StarChefs Rising Star. He has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Wine & Spirits, Wine Enthusiast, and Wine Spectator.