Los Angeles Restaurant Owners Warn City Council: Additional Costly Mandates Will Devastate Small Business Owners

For Immediate Release: March 4, 2025

Contact: Molly Weedn, molly@weednpa.com

Economic Development & Jobs Committee Requests “Report Backs” on Proposed Mandates in Coming Months

Los Angeles – Today, dozens of local restaurant owners testified before the Los Angeles City Council’s Economic Development & Jobs Committee, urging officials to reject a set of costly new regulations targeting local restaurant owners that would force many small businesses to shut their doors, increase food costs even higher for L.A. families and lead to lost jobs and reduced hours for employees across the City.

The committee met to discuss the proposed Costly Restaurant Ordinance, ultimately requesting additional reports on its potential impact before moving forward. If enacted, the Costly Restaurant Ordinance would unfairly single out local fast-food restaurants – yet again – by mandating unnecessary and costly new requirements on small business owners at a time when they are already struggling to survive the $20/hour wage hike, which took effect in April 2024. 

“Owning a restaurant was my American Dream, but these policies are turning it into a nightmare,” said Nayanika Barker, who owns one Subway restaurant in Los Angeles. “I’m already struggling under the weight of the state’s $20 minimum wage, and this new ordinance would pile even more costs onto us. Single-Unit owners like me don’t have unlimited resources—we have families to support and employees who rely on us for their livelihoods. The City Council should know this ordinance would further strain family-owned restaurants like mine.”

A recent report by the Berkeley Research Group detailed the widespread economic fallout that has stemmed from California’s $20/ fast food minimum wage hike, which took effect in April 2024. Key findings include:

• 10,700 Jobs Lost: According to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages data, California’s limited-service restaurant lost 10,700 jobs (-1.9%) between June 2023 and June 2024—the steepest decline this century outside of the Great Recession (2009) and the COVID-19 pandemic (2020).
• 14.5% Increase in Food Prices: Since the legislation mandating the $20 minimum wage for fast food workers was signed in September 2023, food prices at California’s local quick service restaurants have increased by 14.5%—nearly double the national average (8.2%). 

Many restaurant owners fear the Costly Restaurant Ordinance would further crush their small businesses.

Los Angeles is home to more than 1,500 quick-service restaurants. Nearly 60% of California’s local restaurants are owned by people of color and 50% are owned by women. Owning a local franchised restaurant has long helped immigrants, people of color and women beat the odds and achieve small business ownership. The Costly Restaurant Ordinance would erode that opportunity and impose significant harm on the very communities it purports to help.

“Since April, I’ve had to make painful decisions—raising prices, cutting worker hours, and putting growth plans on hold—just to keep my doors open,” said Tom Trujillo, who owns two Wienerschnitzel restaurants in Los Angeles.  “Now, this new ordinance threatens to push my business over the edge. Latino-owned small businesses like mine don’t have the deep pockets—we’re operating on razor-thin margins, and we’re hurting. I hope Councilmembers realize that this ordinance would make it very difficult, if not impossible, for Latino-owned small businesses like mine to survive.”

“The Costly Restaurant Ordinance would take away the schedule flexibility our employees value and local restaurants rely on – making it harder for employees to pick up extra hours, swap shifts or adjust their schedules when unexpected life happens,” said Rob Kirksey, who owns six Wingstop restaurants in Los Angeles. “It’s a relief that the City Council is taking steps to study the real-world impacts of this unnecessary and harmful ordinance before moving forward. The City Council should know that small business owners like me simply can’t afford additional costly mandates.”

The full City Council must approve the committee’s “report back” recommendations before the reports are initiated.

Civil Rights Leaders, Minority Business Leaders and Small Business Advocates Opposed to the Costly Restaurant Ordinance:

• California League of United Latin American Citizens (CA LULAC)
• Los Angeles Urban League
• Brotherhood Crusade
• National Action Network – Western Region
• National Action Network – Los Angeles
• NAACP Southwest Area
• NAACP Los Angeles Branch
• NAACP San Fernando Valley Branch
• NAACP San Pedro-Wilmington-Palos Verdes Branch
• NAACP Santa Monica-Venice Branch
• NAACP Watts Branch
• NAACP Beverly Hills- Hollywood Branch
• Community RePower Movement
• Latino Restaurant Association
• Black Small Business Association of California
• California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce
• California Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce
• California Restaurant Association
• Latino Food Industry Association
• National Restaurant Association
• International Franchise Association
• National Diversity Coalition
• Greater Los Angeles African American Chamber of Commerce (GLAAACC)
• Los Angeles Latino Chamber of Commerce
• Asian Business Association of Los Angeles
• Greater Los Angeles Hospitality Association
• Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce
• Los Angeles County Business Federation (LA BizFed)
• Valley Industry & Commerce Association
• United Chambers of Commerce of the San Fernando Valley

A full list of organizations opposed to the LA Costly Restaurant Ordinance can be found here.  

For more information, visit https://protectlarestaurants.com/