Minimum wage: Column reflects shallow thoughts

Re: "$13.50 minimum wage would boost economy," (TNT op-ed, 11/2).

Tacoma City Council member Ryan Mello seems to think all businesses are equal. He fails to understand how Initiative 1433 will affect smaller businesses fighting to stay open.

As the proprietor of a small mom and pop business, I will be struggling with how to survive. We have always paid our employees much higher than minimum wage and allowed them to increase their wages with good tips by providing excellent customer service and a quality product. We lack the high volume purchasing power of our corporate competitors

Mello does not seem to understand how chain restaurants will have the advantage of adapting to this initiative because of how they source and procure their products and the ability to automate their business model. As a single business, we may need to consider raising our menu prices, reducing our hours of operation and number of employees, and eliminating tips.

We will consider these measures with a heavy heart as we value our employees and have always strived to provide what we could. Not all businesses are equal, and this initiative will affect some more than others.

Council member Mello, what small business have you owned?

This story was originally published November 4, 2016 at 5:16 PM with the headline "Minimum wage: Column reflects shallow thoughts."