KENMORE, N.Y. — Minimum wage will increase from $14.20 an hour to $15.00 on January 1 for all of Western New York – but some local store owners feel that will be an expensive change in the new year.
This increase applies to all workers in Western New York, including tipped workers.
“Everyone is getting an increase on January 1, minimum wage is going up across the state,” said President/CEO of the New York State Restaurant Association Melissa Fleischut. “[Tipped workers] will get an increase just like everybody else.”
These raises pose an expensive challenge for many of our local businesses.
“Everything is costing restaurants a lot more money to produce the products and get them out to the customers,” said Chris McCann.
Chris is owner of Mooney’s in Kenmore.
He shared that he is preparing to give many of his employees a raise because of those January increases, but he doesn’t actually have any minimum wage employees.
“To get qualified people to work in this business, you have to pay way above minimum wage,” Chris said. “The people who are already making more than minimum wage will want more money, which is understandable, because the price of everything is going to go up.”
To put into perspective how expensive that task would be, if Chris was to give all 40 of his employees that same $0.80 raise, it would cost him $1,280 more per week and an extra $66,560 per year.
“It snowballs, and it’s going to add up a lot,” Chris said.
Like Chris, many restaurant owners like Jenna Aiello with The Howling Rooster have spent a lot of time trying to make both their employees and customers happy.
“We’re not willing to sacrifice quality of food. We’re not willing to sacrifice any ingredients or any staff member,” Jenna said. “It puts us in a position where my business partner and I have to put our heads down and work.”
Still, you could see some price increases at your favorite restaurant.
“It’ll take a hit for some of my people on a budget or low-income families,” Chris said.
However, there are some businesses, where increasing prices isn’t an option to make their money back.
Xtra Dime Back in Kenmore is a can and bottle reclamation store whose profits are determined by state rebates.
Even though they will make the same amount of money per can and bottle in January that they do right now, they must increase their workers’ wages.
“Our payroll will be cut, so there will be less workers inside and we will have to work twice as hard,” Manager of the store Nicole Dyer said.
leaving Nicole Dyer hoping for more customers next year and asking everybody to come help support their small businesses.
