In San Francisco’s Stonestown Galleria mall, a McDonald’s franchise has been serving up the usual assortment of burgers and fries to shoppers for more than thirty years. The restaurant also created countless entry-level jobs for teens and young people. But that all came crashing to a halt this weekend when the shop abruptly closed its doors and ceased operations. You might be tempted to suspect that this was caused by the soaring crime rates and migrant issues plaguing the city, and there have certainly been plenty of those issues to contend with. But Scott Rodrick, the franchise owner, told reporters that the final nail in the coffin was the state’s move to jack up the minimum wage to 20 dollars per hour for fast food workers this year. Combined with other rising costs, he said that finally pushed them over the edge. He called the decision “gut-wrenching.” (NY Post)
A longtime San…
