By Ed Sealover
Denver Business Journal, Dec 30, 2016
Colorado restaurants, which arguably are affected more than any other sector by the voter-mandated minimum-wage hike that takes effect Sunday, are getting creative with their purchasing, staffing and pricing decisions to keep their budgets balanced. ...
Supporters of the minimum-wage hike decry the talk of layoffs and cut hours as reactionary scare tactics and argue that the across-the-board nature of the minimum-wage hike will put all eateries on equal competitive ground.
“They can pass those costs on without losing an advantage,” said Edwin Zoe, CEO and founder of Zoe Ma Ma, a fast-casual restaurant in the Denver Union Station area that now starts its workers at $10 per hour. “Most of that money will go back into the local economy, so it’s not a net-loss proposition. People will have more money to go out and spend.”