Coalition of Local Restaurant Owners, Social Justice Leaders and Business Groups Announce Strong Opposition to the Costly Restaurant Ordinance Introduced Today at LA City Council

Contact: Kathy Fairbanks, (916) 813-1010

LOS ANGELES, CA – Today, the Protect Los Angeles Restaurants coalition, including local restaurant owners, social justice leaders, business groups and quick-service restaurant brands, announced strong opposition to a new ordinance introduced by a Los Angeles City Council member that would threaten the viability of local restaurants and drive-up food costs for families already struggling.

The proposed ordinance would unfairly single out local restaurants and mandate unnecessary and costly new requirements on those small business owners at a time when they are already struggling with the state’s new $20/hour wage hike that just went into effect April 1. The costs of the Los Angeles ordinance would be in addition to the estimated $250,000 cost per restaurant per year that the April 1 law is costing restaurant owners.

Local restaurants are already fighting to stay open. In June, Rubio’s Coastal Grill closed 48 restaurants in California. Thousands of Rubio’s workers lost their jobs. Pizza Hut laid off more than 1,100 of its delivery drivers in December due to the April 1 minimum wage hike. Workers who still have jobs are working fewer hours.

“Nearly a decade ago, I opened my first Jersey Mike’s franchise to build a future for my family and leave a legacy and a strong business for my children. I’m worried it’s now in jeopardy,” said Juancarlos Chacon who owns nine Jersey Mike’s in Los Angeles. “Since the higher state minimum wage set in, I’ve had to raise my menu prices and cut employee hours to make ends meet. I cannot absorb any additional costs without drastic changes, including closing one or more of my restaurants. I hope the LA City Council rejects this very bad idea that will harm not just franchisees, but workers who will ultimately lose their jobs.”

The proposed ordinance is not only costly, but also unnecessary. The newly created statewide Fast Food Council is charged with developing recommended workplace protections, health and safety standards, training and wages for fast food workers. This new Los Angeles city ordinance would impose duplicative and even potentially conflicting requirements on local restaurants. 

“I cut back on employee hours by 10 percent, and I’ve been forced to raise prices to cope with the state minimum wage increase. I can’t absorb any more costs,” said Behzad (Ben) Salehi who owns Blaze Pizza franchises in Northridge and Encino. “Unnecessary, costly and duplicative ordinances like these make small business owners hesitant to expand in the City of Los Angeles. Enough is enough. Stop attacking small business owners like us who create jobs and generate revenue for the city.”

Since April, food prices at local restaurants in California are up an average of 10 percent, outpacing cost increases in the rest of the nation. New research shows a post April 1 slowdown in California customer traffic compared to the rest of the nation.

The ordinance, expected to be introduced at the Los Angeles City Council meeting today, is likely to:

• Mandate local restaurants provide an additional one hour of paid time off for every 30 hours worked. This is on top of the five days of paid sick leave already mandated by the State of California.
• Mandate local restaurants pay for six hours of additional training annually for all workers, despite the fact that California law already requires employers to provide employee training and education on topics like employee rights, violence, sexual harassment training, health and workplace safety, food safety and handling, and other requirements.
• Mandate rigid scheduling requirements.
  • Mandating rigid scheduling at local restaurants will hurt employees by limiting their flexibility to pick up extra hours, change shifts with coworkers and juggle conflicting obligations like school, medical appointments, or childcare.
  • Studies also show that mandating rigid scheduling at local restaurants often result in scheduling fewer employees per shift—leading to reduced employee hours.

“Local restaurants have been unfairly singled out for unnecessary mandates, and now this new ordinance would pile on additional mandates that have no purpose,” continued Chacon. “It makes it very difficult, if not impossible, for local restaurants like mine to survive.”