united-states virginia legal-tender
Is it legal for a restaurant to not accept cash?
<p>I recently went to <a href="http://www.sweetgreen.com/" rel="noreferrer">Sweetgreen</a> (a make your own salad place) for the first time. When I got to the end of the counter and was ready to pay, I tried to hand the cashier a $20, but he said "I'm sorry sir, we don't accept cash".</p>

<p>I was really taken aback and ended up having to pay with a card. After lunch, I did some research and found out that <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/3061731/sweetgreen-is-going-fully-cashless-in-2017" rel="noreferrer">Sweetgreen as a chain is going fully cashless in 2017</a>.</p>

<p>Is that legal? Can a restaurant just not accept cash?</p>

<h2><a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/faqs/currency_12772.htm" rel="noreferrer">Yes</a></h2>

<blockquote>
  <p>This statute means that all United States money as identified above is a valid and legal offer of payment for debts when tendered to a creditor. There is, however, no Federal statute mandating that a private business, a person, or an organization must accept currency or coins as payment for goods or services. Private businesses are free to develop their own policies on whether to accept cash unless there is a state law which says otherwise.</p>
</blockquote>
