Some restaurant owners and managers will alter their job descriptions, raise prices or make other changes to deal with the increase to Colorado’s minimum wage, which takes effect today.
Others say they will wait and see what happens as they institute a $1.70- an-hour increase in the state’s minimum wage that was approved by Colorado voters in November. While minimum wages for most workers will rise from $5.15 to $6.85 an hour, hourly wages for tipped employees, including restaurant servers, will increase from $2.13 to $3.83.
“We’re going to watch our staffing levels, so hopefully we don’t have to increase our prices,” said Ron Piscitelli, manager of the HandleBar and Grill in Denver. “We’ll have to be a little more careful on hours and stagger people. If we can save an hour here and there, that kind of offsets it.”
Sales at Colorado restaurants are expected to increase 6.4 percent in 2007, to $8.04 billion, according to data released last month by the National Restaurant Association.
The increase includes inflation but does not factor in price hikes that many restaurants have said they will implement as a result of the minimum-wage bump, Pete Meersman, president of the Colorado Restaurant Association, said last month.
Chase Kintz owns three Denver- area restaurants, including Serioz Pizzeria and Pasquini’s on 17th Avenue. He said his restaurants would probably raise prices on some menu items. While speaking at a restaurant association event last month, Kintz said he wanted to avoid raising his pizza prices so he can remain competitive.
Job descriptions at Kintz’s restaurants will probably be expanded as a way of offsetting costs. Servers may be required to greet and seat customers as well as bus their own tables, he said.
Kintz said his restaurants may also focus more on catering or bring in live music to boost other portions of their business.
