MARTINSVILLE, Va. – The New Year brings another minimum wage increase in the Commonwealth.
On January 1, the minimum wage will increase from $11 to $12. Last year, it went up by $1.50.
Local businesses, like Checkered Pig in Martinsville, said this change will have a big impact.
Lisa Houston, the owner of the barbecue restaurant said the cost of everything is going up, so they might need to raise their prices.
“Labor is going to go up, so somewhere or another you’ve got to go up to make that difference and that is in your food cost.” Houston continues to say, “Right now we are running as tight as we can with labor. I get it, I get why we need to have increases. People need to make more money, but is it really working?”
She said a lot of their customers are like family to them, so they will try to keep prices as fair as possible.
Virginia isn’t the only state seeing this increase. In total, 27 states will see a minimum wage increase in the new year.