Illinois minimum wage increases on July 1

Christopher Hanken’s five businesses lost more than $690,000 in sales between March and May 19 after he severely cut services to comply with the stay-at-home order imposed due to the novel coronavirus.

He owns five restaurants across the Springfield area – Lake Pointe Grill, Public House 29, Mowie’s Cue, and both Pie’s The Limit locations.

It has been a battle for him and his business partner, Vic Lanzotti, as they were forced to close the Pie’s The Limit location on Freedom Drive and combine it with the one at 1710 S. McArthur Blvd. because “it wasn’t maintaining itself,” he said. “We were going to go further in the hole.”

About two and a half weeks after he spent the last dollar of his federal Paycheck Protection Program loan money – designed to provide small businesses a way to keep their workers on payroll throughout COVID-19 – Hanken will face another hurdle: the July 1 minimum wage increase.

Read more: https://www.sj-r.com/news/20200627/illinois-minimum-wage-increases-on-july-1
(Springfield State Journal Register)