In Case You Missed It: New York Times: Los Angeles Restauranteurs See Trouble

For Immediate Release: September 30, 2025

Contact: Molly Weedn  molly@weednpa.com 

Reporting comes as Los Angeles City Council weighs costly new ordinance further targeting local restaurants

LOS ANGELES, CA – A recently published New York Times piece underscores the mounting challenges facing Los Angeles restaurants, documenting widespread closures and the loss of 18,700 restaurant jobs lost from July 2019 to July 2025.

The piece, “In High-Profile Closings, Los Angeles Restauranteurs See Trouble,” points to the economic toll of rising costs, unsustainable pricing pressures and a wave of turmoil. As former Los Angeles magazine critic Patric Kuh put it:

“Restaurants are always closing, but this is a very accelerated rate. And very focused on one city. It is now down to the bone.”

Other local leaders echoed the alarm:

• Francesco Zimone, the owner of the L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele group: “Our revenues are down 35 percent from last year across the board. The difficulty is immense. Absolutely immense.”
• Suzanne Goin and Caroline Styne, veteran restaurateurs: “It is a crisis. I don’t think the L.A. restaurant scene has ever experienced what it is experiencing in this moment. We’ve been in this lingering period of decline.”

Even as LA restaurants fight to keep their doors open, the Los Angeles City Council is considering a Costly Restaurant Ordinance, which would pile on new burdens—just as the state’s 25% wage hike is already delivering severe economic consequences on the industry in Los Angeles and across California:

• 32,525 Jobs Lost Statewide: Seasonally-adjusted data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Current Employment Statistics (CES) shows California lost 32,525 fast food jobs since AB 1228 was signed into law in September 2023.
• 14.5% Increase in Food Prices: A recent report by the Berkeley Research Group found food prices at California’s fast food restaurants have surged by 14.5% since September 2023—nearly double the national average of 8.2%.
• 760+ Restaurant Closures in LA: According to the City of LA’s Office of Finance Business Filings Database, at least 760 LA restaurants have shut down since AB 1228 passed, with owners citing the $20/hr wage and unsustainable operating costs as key reasons for closing.
• Workers Lost Approximately 7 Weeks of Work: Federal data from the U.S. Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Current Population Survey – Outgoing Rotation Group (CPS-ORG) shows that non-tipped restaurant workers in California lost a median of 5 hours per week after AB 1228 took effect—equivalent to nearly two months of work per year.
  • A survey of local restaurant owners confirms this data: Nearly 90% of local restaurant owners impacted by the $20/hour minimum wage reported reducing employee hours to offset rising costs, with 87% planning additional cuts over the next year.

Nearly 60% of California’s local restaurants are owned by people of color and 50% are owned by women. In Los Angeles, restaurants have long been a ladder of opportunity for immigrants, women and communities of color. The City Council’s Costly Restaurant Ordinance would erode that opportunity and impose significant harm on the very groups it claims to support.

The Protect LA Restaurants coalition urges the City Council to reject the ordinance and instead work with local restaurant owners on policies that protect jobs, preserve employee flexibility, and keep small businesses afloat.

Read the New York Times article here.