Pretty clear it goes in her pocket. All the waitresses are getting now is the $15 and hour. Simple formula. Less money to the staff, same cost to the customers. The extra has to go in someone’s pocket.
Only way employees would benefit is if there were a lot of Black customers. Since they (generally) don’t tip, they would pay more and the staff would be a little better as to them.
Yeah, likely not in Southern Maine. :-)
My guess is that this place caters to the tourists, not the locals. But that's just a guess. It's been a long time since I lived up there.