A restaurant owner in Ohio warns that raising the minimum wage will now only hurt smaller businesses.
President Biden on Friday signed executive orders that will increase food aid, protect jobseekers from unemployment and pave the way for federal workers and contractors to receive a minimum wage of $ 15 per hour, as part of his coronavirus aid package.
Although Biden’s minimum wage action only affects federal employees, he does support a $ 15 wage for all workers.
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Adrian Adornetto, who owns three pizza restaurants in Ohio, told Fox & Friends Weekend on Saturday that the cost of a higher minimum wage would put extra pressure on small struggling businesses.
He calls the consideration of such a move during the coronavirus pandemic ‘bad timing’.
“It will do my business and my employees several things. I’ll probably cut back hours. I’m in the pizza business, so $ 12 pizza can grow into a $ 19 pizza, and in my part of Ohio it’s very expensive, ‘said Adornetto.
He said his business had gone through difficult “obstacles” amid the pandemic, and that a minimum wage increase is currently “unthinkable.”
Ardonetto said that Biden’s wage increase would cause a “ripple effect” in his businesses, and that he might have to raise prices on the menu to try to reach the endpoints.
“People are already scared to come out; we’re half-hearted. … It’s pretty rough and it’s scary. It’s very real,” Ardonetto said.
Despite his struggles, the business owner still finds ways to give back to the community. He has collaborated with other pizzerias to fund assistance to businesses in need.
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“We’ve started a thing called ‘Pizza with a Purpose’ with the Ohio Restaurant Association. We’m very excited about it. This week, Monday through Sunday, every pizza shop participating, and every pepperoni specialty pizza they have, will “a dollar goes to the Ohio Restaurant Employee Relief Fund,” Ardonetto said.