Seattle restaurant industry warns of fallout as minimum wage hike nears
Seattle restaurateurs expressed concern this week that the city’s looming minimum wage hike—which would increase wages from $9.32 to $15 an hour by 2019—could force them to cut staff and raise prices, although the measure’s supporters say it will benefit the economy in the long run.
4 more cities pass soda taxes
Soft drinks just got more expensive for restaurateurs and retailers in Colorado and California after residents approved popular referenda.
Opening one of the restaurant industry’s largest conventions, commentator Laura Ingraham asked attendees of the packed Restaurant Leadership Conference to raise a hand if they were inspired by any of potential contenders for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. A hush filled the room and not a hand was raised.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson has said he’ll sign the measure if it’s voted out of the legislature. As with the new Indiana law, the bill would grant restaurants and other businesses the prerogative of refusing service to someone who clashed with their religious beliefs. Fear of discrimination against gays has already led to convention cancellations in the Hoosier State.