The recent increase in the minimum wage for food industry workers in California will increase costs for companies, and some companies will ingest the cost while others will pass it on to consumers. Chipotle, a renowned fast food Mexican food chain, has announced that it will be increasing menu prices and passing the cost to customers. The new California minimum wage for food industry workers is $20/hour, over 4 dollars more than the general minimum wage in California. The rise in Chipotle prices will only occur in California, but the restaurant chain has made several price increases in the past few years. These price increases are largely attributed to increasing inflation as well as an overall rise in wages for Chipotle employees around the country.
See "Chipotle will raise prices in California to offset higher costs due to an increase in minimum wage for food service workers", Grace Dean, Nancy Luna, Business Insider, October 30, 2023