Members of the Texas House Are Pushing for Minimum Wage Increases in Texas. One bill would raise the minimum wage all the way to nineteen dollars an hour. This could have some negative impacts on already struggling Houston restaurants.
Jonathan Horowitz with the Houston Hospitality Alliance told KTRH that these local restaurants are already struggling to keep up with the current economy. He said, "The wage inflation, and the increases to minimum wages, will just drive the industry out of viability."
He points out that small businesses, especially restaurants, really only have one way to meet the increased costs that would come from a minimum wage hike. He said, "The only recourse that restaurants in particular have is to raise menu prices. That's how they generate revenue."
Horowitz also points out that a restaurant can only raise their prices so much before they price out their customer base and start losing business. That leads to situations like what we've seen in California, where many restaurants and other small businesses have either automated their workforce or shut down completely.
On top of all of that, these wage increases may not even be necessary. Horowitz said, "On average, tipped workers in the restaurant industry are making more than $25.00 an hour, without having to change the minimum wage."