Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Minimum Wage Forces Historic LA Diner Pann's (est. 1958) to Stop Serving Dinner



The Laist reports:
When it comes to coffeeshops, Pann's is as iconic as it gets. The diner opened in 1958 and has been dishing out their fried chicken and cajun andouille sausage for decades. It's also noted for its distinctive Googie-style architecture, and everyone from Vin Diesel to Nicolas Cage have filmed a movie there.
In spite of all the years, Pann's will be undergoing some changes. As owner Jim Poulos told LAist, the restaurant is struggling to keep up with the new minimum wage hikes, and will have to shorten their hours to stay afloat. Starting August 1, the restaurant will be operating from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., meaning it will be closed for dinner...
According to Poulos, the wage hike produces a domino effect that has significantly raised his cost of operations. "The cook who is already making $15 an hour is not going to like it that the dishwasher is making the same amount," said Poulos. He adds that his vendors have been rising their prices because of the wage hike. "It's been a huge hit. How else is the restaurant industry supposed to deal with it? There'll be more automation. They'll be cutting labor, cutting quality."

(via Mark Perry)

2 comments:

  1. Raising the minimum wage was never about helping the "working poor". It is "virtue signalling" on the part of the political and activist classes. The unions, of course, support it for different reasons, but they hide behind the virtue cloak as well.

    ReplyDelete
  2. "Price discovery? WHAT'S THAT?!"

    ...and scene!

    ReplyDelete