More Seattle restaurants close doors as $15 minimum wage approaches

[txradioguy]

Seattle’s $15 minimum wage law goes into effect on April 1, 2015. As that date approaches, restaurants across the city are making the financial decision to close shop. The Washington Policy Center writes that “closings have occurred across the city, from Grub in the upscale Queen Anne Hill neighborhood, to Little Uncle in gritty Pioneer Square, to the Boat Street Cafe on Western Avenue near the waterfront.”

Of course, restaurants close for a variety of reasons. But, according to Seattle Magazine, the “impending minimum wage hike to $15 per hour” is playing a “major factor.” That’s not surprising, considering “about 36% of restaurant earnings go to paying labor costs.” Seattle Magazine,
...
“He estimates that a common budget breakdown among sustaining Seattle restaurants so far has been the following: 36 percent of funds are devoted to labor, 30 percent to food costs and 30 percent go to everything else (all other operational costs). The remaining 4 percent has been the profit margin, and as a result, in a $700,000 restaurant, he estimates that the average restauranteur in Seattle has been making $28,000 a year.

“With the minimum wage spike, however, he says that if restaurant owners made no changes, the labor cost in quick service restaurants would rise to 42 percent and in full service restaurants to 47 percent.”
...
“Seattle is rightly famous for great neighborhood restaurants. That won’t change. What will change is that fewer people will be able to afford to dine out, and as a result there will be fewer great restaurants to enjoy. People probably won’t notice when some restaurant workers lose their jobs, but as prices rise and some neighborhood businesses close, the quality of life in urban Seattle will become a little bit poorer.”

http://shiftwa.org/more-seattle-restaurants-close-doors-as-15-minimum-wage-approaches/

[obumazombie]

The libs said something like this wouldn't happen.
The conservatives predicted this very thing would happen.
The conservatives get to say "I told you so".
the libs get to keep saying phrases like..."If you like your plan, you can keep your plan courtesy of Gruber and owebuma".

[SVPete]

Small businesses in SF are struggling with the same government-imposed artificial wage rate increases, albeit a little slower. The results will be similar, though being more gradual, a few businesses will be able to adjust by cutting costs and raising prices a bit more gradually. But there will be limits: as prices rise, demand will decrease; if government keeps imposing arbitrary artificial wage rate increases, more and more businesses will be forced to close. The government-media complex will, of course, blame business owners' greed; some former employees will lap up that lie, probably enough to keep reelecting the pols who destroyed their jobs.

[txradioguy]

How long do you think it will be until the Civil Rights division of the DoJ starts threatening lawsuits if the restaurants don't stay open?

[obumazombie]

How long do you think it will be until the Civil Rights division of the DoJ starts threatening lawsuits if the restaurants don't stay open?

Aforementioned restaurants had better not have a bakery that makes hetero only wedding cakes either.

[Lacarnut]

Government meddling at its finest.

In order to stay open, they could add the tip on the bill at 16/20%. Give the employees 1/5% of the tip and pocket the rest as income. There is no law in LA that requires the employer to give the employee all of the tip. This is practiced in many restaurants.