Business owners weigh in on minimum wage

Earlier this month when the House Commerce and Economic Development Committee debated House Bill 31, one of several proposals to raise the state’s minimum wage being considered during the current legislative session, dozens of people from the restaurant industry took to Santa Fe to oppose the bill.

A similar sentiment is felt in eastern New Mexico as several restaurant owners told The News that proposals to raise the minimum wage would devastate small businesses and restaurants, especially in rural parts of the state, though they were not unanimous.

“Our economy isn’t the same as what it is in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Las Cruces, Rio Rancho,” Chris Bryant, a Clovis city commissioner and owner of Foxy Drive-In, said.

Bryant said most of his servers and carhops already make well over $10 an hour through tips despite a lower hourly wage, but it would be a “difficult transition” if the business owners were footing that bill instead of customers, as would be the case if the tip credit provision is removed, like HB 31 calls for.

Lance Bradley, owner of Twin Cronnie Drive-In in Clovis, said raising the minimum wage would “be absolutely devastating to communities” like Clovis, noting that if a 25 percent raise is given to minimum wage workers — typically entry level positions — then managers’ and other more experienced employees’ wages would need to be adjusted too.

“You’re going to drive businesses out of business, you’re going to drive industry out of the state, it’s not good,” he said.

His father, former Lt. Gov. Walter Bradley called the idea “an economic boondoggle” and said it would put small businesses at risk in the immediate future when their cost of goods and employees skyrocket nearly 40 percent.

“Ultimately it doesn’t change anything because everything goes up but initially it jeopardizes particularly small businesses who are operating like ours, mom and pop stores and restaurants,” he said.

Instead, Walter Bradley said he would prefer each municipality set its own minimum wage rather than a statewide increase.

“No one knows their economy better than the local community,” he said.

Mayor Pro-Tem Juan Garza, owner of Juanito’s restaurants in Clovis and Portales, said he is opposed to raising the minimum wage and thinks the idea is simply a way for the state to bring in more tax revenue.

“All they’re looking at is employee tax is going to go up and they’re going to get revenue at the state level,” Garza said.

On the other hand, Tom Martin, a former Clovis city commissioner and owner of Taco Box in Clovis and Portales, said he is not opposed to raising the minimum wage, except for tipped employees, though none of his workers are tipped.

He said if minimum wage goes up, the price of goods will just simply go up.

Martin noted that when he started the business in 1969, minimum wage was a $1.30 and a taco cost a quarter, meaning you had to work about 12 minutes to earn a taco. Now with a minimum wage of $7.50 a taco costs $1.79, meaning you have to work about 14 minutes to pay for one taco.

“Ultimately prices are going to go up,” Martin said. “The first things we’re going to do is cut hours, try to make our employees more efficient, hone our marketing skills, we’re going to try all these things.”

Leonard Vandenburg, owner of Something Different Grill in Clovis and Portales, said he is in favor of raising minimum wage as long as all restaurants and business will be on the same page.

“Customers will see some of that in their tickets, employees may see that in there hours being cut to some degree, but it’s not as big of a hit financially to the owner of the restaurant as some people are saying.”

Karl Terry, executive director of the Roosevelt County Chamber of Commerce, said the chamber has not taken an official stance on the bills currently being considered in Santa Fe, but in general the organization’s members have been opposed to previous attempts to raise the minimum wage.

Terry said he personally is opposed to raising the minimum wage, though less so if the tip credit provision remains.

“Most of the bills being considered are really out of line with reality in New Mexico, especially out of line with reality in eastern New Mexico,” Terry said.

Minimum wage in New Mexico has not increased since 2009, when it moved from $6.50 to $7.50 an hour.