Increasing the minimum wage to $15.00 hour is not unsustainable. I am not defending here but do the math. The labor costs in a prepared restaurant meal is about 30%.
Let’s say a diner costs without tip $10.00. Right now $3.00 of that goes to labor. Lets DOUBLE labor costs to $6.00. The meal now costs $13.00. A substantial increase but not “Astronomical”.
A 30% increase in a fast food meal puts it at the same price as a full service restaurant which increases the competition considerably. That is the type of increase that starts the ball rolling on reducing rates which translates to eliminating positions.