Many say their staff earn above minimum
Doug Dow, owner of C.C. Tomatoes restaurant in Penacook, isn't against a plan to increase the state's minimum wage by more that $2 in two years. After all, his workers already make more than the proposed increase.
"I don't see how people could possibly get by on what the current minimum wage is now," he said.
Dow is among a handful of restaurant owners in the Concord region who say they don't oppose increasing the minimum wage - if only because it won't affect them, since they already pay their workers more than the proposed increase. Some said that the hike may affect business, but there's not much they can do about it.
The Legislature has approved the raise, and Gov. John Lynch has said he will sign the proposal into law. It will be the first time in a decade that the state's minimum wage will go up. The legislation will raise the minimum wage from $5.15 an hour - the federal minimum - to $6.50 an hour Sept. 1. The following year, the minimum wage would increase to $7.25 an hour.
Of 40,000 New Hampshire workers who make less than $7.25, nearly half of them work in the food service and lodging industry, according to recent statistics from the New Hampshire Employment Security, Economic and Labor Market Information Bureau.
Brenda Lockwood, who owns Don Giovanni on Depot Street, said she doubts the increase will affect her much. She pays her busboys and dishwashers a bit more than $5.15, the current minimum wage. They also receive a portion of the tips that the wait staff generate, Lockwood said, "so they do pretty well for themselves."
"Think about it, though: Who could survive on that kind of money?" she asked, referring to the current minimum wage.
Mary Fowler of Mary's Family Restaurant in Bow said her waitresses make $2.38, the current minimum wage for waitresses, and their pay is supplemented by tips. The bill would increase their pay to 45 percent of the overall wage. When the minimum wage rises to $7.25, for example, tipped workers would receive at least $3.26 an hour.
"But they're worth it," Fowler said of her staff.
Alan Andrian of Alan's Restaurant in Boscawen said that qualified, good workers demand more than minimum wage already. All of his employees are making much more than minimum wage now, and his wait staff make enough money from tips that their hourly income ends up being at least $8 or $9 an hour.
"You can't pay them the minimum and expect them to stay here," Andrian said. "So all my people that are employed aren't even affected by that."
Jim Makris of Makris Lobster and Steak said the increase is "just a smoke screen" that will end up pushing workers into a higher tax bracket where they will be taxed more.
"I'm sure it will affect us," he said. "Instead of having three bus kids on a Friday night, we'll have two. People are going to lose their jobs from it."
Stathi Kapelli, who owns Kapelli's Pizzeria and Restaurant, said the increases could be good for employees, whose wages often don't keep up with inflation rates. On the other hand, the prices will simply be passed on to his customers.
But the increases are a long time coming, said Kevin Daniel of Daniel's Restaurant and Pub in Henniker. They will affect all restaurants and will probably affect the wages of the wait staff the most - already the highest paid employees, he said.
His other employees already make more than the minimum wage, but in the long run it will probably raise the wages of all his employees, he said.
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