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 Francisco McDonald’s has become the latest casualty to California’s new $20 minimum wage, according to reports.

The McDonald’s at the Stonestown Galleria shopping mall, located about eight miles southwest of downtown San Francisco, was permanently shuttered Sunday after more than 30 years serving the area.

“This is a gut-wrenching day for my family,” franchise owner Scott Rodrick said, according to ABC 7.

In addition to the higher minimum wage, the mall had recently increased Rodrick's rent and imposed a new tenant fee. Property taxes have also increased sharply. All of this combined to make the location the most expensive restaurant in the chain that he operates. He had already been forced to increase his prices to the point where people were less willing to eat there. It was all just too much.

This is only one of many similar sad stories unfolding all across California. The driving factors all share one thing in common, however. The increased crime, the migrant encampments, the higher taxes, and the fees associated with enhanced private security resources were all driven by the state's liberal policies. It has been growing increasingly dangerous to operate a small business in San Francisco and you can only increase someone's taxes so far before you cause them to flee. Small businesses are shutting down and taking the jobs they created with them. Gavin Newsom is reaping the fruits of his failed policies.

It wasn't just this one McDonald's franchise turning out the lights this month. An Arby’s Roast Beef that operated on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood for 55 years closed a couple of weeks ago. Taco chain Rubio’s Coastal Grill closed dozens of outlets across the state this month before filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Fosters Freeze in Fresno also closed this month, similarly blaming the new minimum wage law as the primary driving factor.

It's not as if they didn't realize this was coming. These closures were predicted the moment that the new law was announced. The law never made any sense to begin with. What is so special about working in the fast food business that merits a twenty percent higher minimum wage than other unskilled labor jobs? Newsom's administration declared that it was a "living wage" that people deserved, but rather than bringing home more money, the workers at all of these businesses are now unemployed. And they are still living in an area with a disastrously high cost of living. So how is the law working out for them? The state doesn't seem interested in changing course, so a lot of these workers should probably figure out a way to escape to a more sane state if they have the wherewithal to do so.