Free Republic

Durgin-Park, a renowned Boston restaurant, has been around for a long time. It opened in 1827, when Massachusetts’ own John Quincy Adams was president of the United States. Phil Klein of the Washington Examiner wrote: “The restaurant, located in Boston’s Faneuil Hall, was an institution and tourist attraction, serving New England staples, such as chowder, shepherd’s pie, prime rib, pot roast, and Boston cream pie.” But now, after nearly two centuries, it’s closing. Why? The owner says it’s due in part to a recently passed law that raised the minimum wage from $11 to $12 an hour on Jan. 1, and will further increase it...

...the restaurant will close on Jan. 12 because fewer customers are coming through the doors and costs have risen. Manager Kenneth Thimothee said the state’s new minimum hourly wage, which rose from $3.75 to $4.35 for tipped workers and from $11 to $12 for other employees, is partially to blame. And Durgin-Park will not be the only high-profile restaurant that will close this year, said Bob Luz, president and CEO of the Massachusetts Restaurant Association. “We’re going to have a number coming up in the not-too-distant future,” Luz said, although he declined to say which ones. “It’s a confluence of...