Hollywood Arby’s is closed at California’s minimum wage of $20

Family-owned Arby’s Roast Beef, which has been located on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood for 55 years, has closed its doors, blaming California’s recently enacted $20-an-hour minimum wage law as the “final nail in the coffin.”

The fast food restaurant’s iconic cowboy hat sign was captured by FOX 11’s SkyFOX camera on Tuesday reading “Goodbye Hollywood.” TY for 55 wonderful years.

The restaurant, located near Bronson Street, closed its doors on Saturday, according to local reports.

“With inflation, food costs skyrocketed, and the $20-an-hour minimum wage was the nail in the coffin,” said Gary Hoch, Arby’s general manager. He told the Los Angeles Times.

Hoch is the son-in-law of 91-year-old Marilyn Leviton, who opened the Arby’s franchise at 5920 Sunset Boulevard in January 1969, six months before the moon landing.

But on Friday, Arby’s workers arriving for their shift were told they would be let go.

There is a handwritten sign in the window that says “permanently closed,” and plywood has been used to board the restaurant.

“I’m so sorry it’s come to this. I think we’ve done a good job for 55 years.” He told KTLA-TV.

It’s the latest restaurant to close since the state raised the minimum wage for fast food workers on April 1 to $20 an hour from $16.

Beloved taco chain Rubio’s Coastal Grill closed dozens of locations across California earlier this month, citing the rising cost of doing business in the state. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection days later.

Foster’s Freeze, another fast-food chain, recently closed one of its locations near Fresno because the franchisee said it could no longer pay workers the higher wages.

Leviton’s Arby’s — featuring the chain’s famous “We’ve got meat” slogan — has struggled in recent years.

“I think it was the pandemic that got us,” she said.

“I really feel like we would have closed during the pandemic [if it weren’t] For federal loans.

“A lot of the offices around this area are empty now, and we’re not getting the same traffic that we used to,” Hoch added.

Since the law came into effect, visits to chains such as McDonald’s, Wendy’s and Burger King have declined. According to analytics firm Placer.ai.

Popular restaurant chains, including McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, Chipotle and Starbucks, have also been forced to raise menu prices, some by up to 8%.

In-N-Out Burger, one of California’s most beloved fast food chains, has raised the price of its double burger combo in Los Angeles County to $11.44, 76 cents more than it cost last year.

The controversial new law also provides for a significant 25% increase in salaries for managers at fast food restaurants – from a minimum of $66,560 per year to $83,200.

At the popular chicken restaurant chain Raising Cane’s, general managers in the state can now see their annual salaries reach $174,000 in bonuses based on their locations’ sales and profits.