By Sarah Meehan
Baltimore Business Journal, March 19, 2013
... a higher minimum wage is not cause for concern at all eateries across the state. Andy Shallal owns Busboys & Poets, which has two locations in Washington, D.C., and one in Hyattsville. ...
“Often times I think we talk about the sky is falling,” Shallal said. “We’re just feeding people a lot of fear and falsehoods.”
The minimum wage in D.C. is already higher than Maryland’s at $8.25, and employees are paid comparably at all three Busboys & Poets locations, Shallal said. There are three tiers of tip workers at Busboys & Poets — workers who are paid $3.63, $5 or $8 an hour plus tips depending on their position. Servers, who have the highest tip potential, have the lowest base pay, while food runners and bussers are paid more hourly because they receive fewer tips. ...
Ultimately, Shallal said he doesn’t think raising the minimum wage would impact his bottom line. He said workers having more money to take home would benefit the state’s economy overall, and compared this debate to the hoopla that ensued before smoking was banned in Maryland restaurants.
“I see the minimum wage, and sick leave in fact also, as one of those issues we’ll look back and say, ‘Jeez, I can’t believe we were fighting over this.’”
Copyright 2013 American City Business Journals