Minimum Wage Frontrunning

"Janine, someone with your qualifications would have no trouble landing a top-flight job in either the food service or housekeeping industries."
--Dr Peter Venkman (Ghostbusters)

Getting in front of pending hikes in minimum wages, a NYC restaurateur plans to eliminate tips and raise menu prices. To the extent that these prices increase employee costs and raise landed prices to consumers such that lower productivity results, two consequences are predictable: demand for fine food and for fine food employees at these restaurants will decline.