Restaurateur Explains Why He's Happy with SJ's Increased Minimum Wage
SAN JOSE (KCBS) - Friday marked six months since San Jose raised its minimum wage from $8 to $10 an hour.
By all accounts, it's been a good six months.
Restaurateur Explains Why He's Happy with SJ's Increased Minimum Wage
"I was (fearing the worst) a little bit because anything like that scares you as a business owner," acknowledged Chuck Hammers, who owns the chain Pizza My Heart, which has six locations in San Jose.
"$8 to $10 seemed like a big jump and margins are slim in the food industry. So, it was a bit scary," he added. "As it turned out, we kind of backed into the numbers, we figured out we needed to raise prices about 4%, we raised the prices, no one complained and our bottom line's been almost identical."
"It's worked out fine, customers have not had a problem and our bottom line is the same."
He also credits the boost in minimum wage pay with keeping employees happy.
"It really was a win because now we're not getting as much turnover and happy employees mean happy customers."
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