Durgin-Park, the landmark Boston restaurant established in 1827 when John Quincy Adams was president, is closing — and the owner is citing the recently passed $15 minimum wage law in Massachusetts as one of the reasons.
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.
The Boston Globe reported, “The Faneuil Hall restaurant will close on Jan. 12, according to restaurant manager Kenneth Thimothee, who cited financial reasons including an increased minimum wage. ‘It’s very unfortunate, but the costs are too high,’ he said.”
The Boston Business Journal provided a bit more detail from ownership, which also cited the minimum wage: “According to Ark Restaurants CEO Michael Weinstein, the restaurant wasn’t profitable anymore. He says business has been down about 30 percent over the last five years. Weinstein says the dwindling head count, increase in minimum wage and health care costs, the expensive upkeep of an old building and competition from the growing Seaport District were all factors in the restaurant’s downfall.”
Massachusetts has been among the national leaders in the race to raise the minimum wage.
In 2014, then-Gov. Deval Patrick signed a law raising the minimum wage from $8 to $11 by 2017. Then, last year, Gov. Charlie Baker followed up by signing legislation that increased the wage to $12 as of this Jan. 1, and to $15 per hour by 2023. The minimum wage for tipped workers increased to $4.35 this year, on its way to $6.75 by 2023.
Economic studies on minimum wages throughout the world, while not unanimous, have overwhelmingly concluded that increasing the minimum wage leads to fewer jobs, particularly among the lowest-skilled workers.
In 2017 31 Senate Democrats introduced a bill to more than double the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 per hour. Among them were Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and potential 2020 presidential contenders: Sens. Bernie Sanders, Cory Booker, Sherrod Brown, Kirsten Gillibrand, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, and Elizabeth Warren.
