https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/jul/24/dc-restaurants-closing-record-pace-council-vote-looms/
Which always raises the question for me: if a business can't charge enough to pay a living wage, should it stay in business?
/r & bsky users answer with a resounding "NO!!" (until their favorite business closes)
Yes, just like they always say they prefer to buy American until they see the price.
But honestly, people just eat out way way too much. When I was a kid, it was a very rare thing. Special occasions. A big deal if my dad brought home pizza (and we were solidly middle class, not at all a deprived childhood).
People have gotten too used to things being cheap because people are paid crap.
I think this came to a head during a big snow storm when people from SF and Sac with second homes in Truckee-Tahoe area (so think second homes worth as a general rule $2m and up) where screaming "Extortion!" because exhausted snow shovelers were asking $100/hour. They found this completely unreasonable. Meanwhile, when we had to hire a water lawyer from Sac, he charged $450/hour, which apparently is not extortion and completely reasonable and he didn't even have to touch a shovel.
And this ties in with tipping culture. When I was a kid in the Midwest a 10% tip for good service was rock solid in suburban and rural areas. In downtown CHicago, maybe 15%. Now tips are larger and everyone has a tip jar out because wages have not kept up.
>> because wages have not kept up
Also, for business owners, *undeclared* tips are a boon. They don't pay FICA, unemployment insurance, and so forth on those. So if they shift compensation from wages to tips, they win.
The big win, of course, is price obfuscation.