With a cautious eye on a dissolving economy, or out of simple frustration with an awkward tradition, an increasing number of Chicago diners say they are asking for separate itemized checks when they eat out with a group. Unless they are splitting dishes (and sometimes even when they are), they want to pay only for what they ordered.
Studies have shown that when diners split the check evenly, the check average is higher, now that everyone is splitting the check and paying for their own selections, the check average will trend lower.
