Quote Originally Posted by MikeyinBrooklyn View Post
I would lose all my wealth trying to run a restaurant with such wages [[and other work rules outlined above). Successful restaurants operate on thin margins. Why do you think fast food- and even some full service chains- are rapidly automating? [[hint: West coast cities with absurd minimum wages, even in tipped positions, has led to the dichotomy of more restaurant closings than openings, even in a strong economy) Why are high end restaurants in many cities adding service charges and eliminating tipping? [[Hint: money that once went to waiters and bartenders is now being used to pay the kitchen staff as well; i.e. well compensated career servers are now paying the kitchen, while very rich, liberal owners- NYC's Danny Meyer the first bastard among them- get to brag that they've given the kitchen a living wage).

Rules outlined in the Ontario case, including but not just the wages, will lead in 5 years' time to there being, generally, fast food chain restaurants and very expensive restaurants, with very little middle ground places. Mom and pop places can't operate under those rules. Restaurants are great meritocracies. The people that own and run them generally started out in low wage, low skill positions, and worked their way up. Automating fast food and regulating out of existence the independent small restaurants and bars will eliminate, besides many establishments, the opportunities for the employees to get a job as a dishwasher at age 14, and end up owning their own place many years later, as I did.

Utopian fools can structure society in their minds any way they want. In the meanwhile, some of us have to worry about making payroll and what the public is willing to pay for a steak.
Everyone I know that owns a restaurant is well off, wait staff is usually still exempt from standard min wage as well