California’s $20 Minimum Wage Forces 91-Year-Old Owner to Shut Down Iconic Hollywood Arby’s After 55 Years: ‘Final Nail in the Coffin’
One of Hollywood’s most iconic restaurants has shut its doors for good.
The Arby’s Roast Beef franchise closed on Saturday after an impressive 55 years in business, as reported by KTLA.
The restaurant is the latest casualty of Bidenomics and Governor Newsom’s $20 minimum wage law.
Marilyn Leviton, the 91-year-old sole owner of the franchise since its opening in 1969, cited a combination of devastating economic factors for the closure. Among them, California’s recent legislation that raised the minimum wage for fast food workers to an untenable $20 per hour proved too burdensome.
In September, California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) signed a law raising the minimum wage for fast-food workers to $20 per hour.
“Eighty percent of the workforce, these fast food places—80 percent of people of color, two thirds—are women, the majority are breadwinners and we have the opportunity to reward that contribution, reward that sacrifice and stabilize an industry in turn. What a remarkable moment,” Newsom said in September during the bill signing.