How would a $15 minimum wage impact the restaurant industry?

At first glance, many – if not most – restaurant operators may feel that a $15 per hour minimum wage would be a death blow to the restaurant industry. It is indisputable that the biggest challenge facing the restaurant industry today has evolved from the coronavirus into hiring and retaining staff. Every single client of mine has or continues to have difficulty in recruiting and hiring for all positions; resulting in many of them operating short-staffed. Even in states and cities that are allowing full occupancy for restaurants and bars, many have not been able to take advantage of this because they simply do not have enough team members. Some restaurants are closing up to two days a week because of staffing shortages, costing thousands in missed revenue. Before examining the $15 minimum wage issue, let’s examine why restaurants are experiencing challenges retaining staff.
So … why is it so hard for restaurants to hire and retain staff? Here are the primary reasons:

• Unemployment benefits: When a potential employee can make more by staying at home than by working in your restaurant, a lot of them are going to stay home. The extended Federal Unemployment Benefit of an extra $300 per week is set to expire in September of 2021, but at least until then, this remains a challenge to hiring restaurant staff.
• A taste of a different industry: When COVID-19 began a little over a year ago, our industry was virtually shut down. Some operators were able to get PPP loans so they could keep paying staff, but others had to lay off many, if not most of their employees. Two events came about from this. Firstly, employees that were laid off were able to draw unemployment that wasn’t much less, if any less, than what they were earning. Secondly, many of these employees migrated to other industries in order to continue working to support their families. Once out of the restaurant industry, many workers discovered that they could work for companies that offered a more predictable schedule, benefits that they had not received in their restaurant jobs and higher wages. Even as the restaurant industry recovered, many ex-restaurant employees had no desire to return.
• Industry perception: Unfortunately, the restaurant industry does not have an excellent “rep” when it comes to being an employer. Why?
  – Wages are typically low
  – Benefits such as healthcare, paid vacations, 401Ks, set schedules and desirable hours are rare