Beloved Hollywood Arby's Shutters After 55 Years Due to New Minimum Wage Laws The restaurant said goodbye to Sunset Boulevard over the weekend but the iconic neon sign may be spared — for now.
By Emily Rella Edited by Melissa Malamut
Opinions expressed by BIZ Experiences contributors are their own.
It's the end of an era for a beloved fast-food spot in California.
After 55 years, the famed Arby's on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California, shut its doors due to new minimum wage law requirements in the state. According to KTLA, the restaurant was boarded up by workers on Saturday.
A sign outside the drive-thru window reads "Farewell Hollywood. TY for 55 great years."
Related: A Popular Burger Chain Has Been Quietly Raising Menu Prices 'Incrementally' Amid Minimum Wage Hike
"The customer count has gone down over the last few years. A lot of the offices around this area are empty now, and we're just not getting the same foot traffic we did before," Gary Husch, general manager of the Arby's location, told the Los Angeles Times. "With inflation, food costs have gone way up and the $20-an-hour minimum wage has been the nail in the coffin."
The restaurant is currently owned by Husch's mother-in-law, Marilyn Leviton, who is 91 years old and the only person to ever have owned the Arby's location.
Arby's on Sunset has captured the attention and adoration of tourists and locals for decades, thanks to the giant, neon derby hat outside the front door. The sign will remain intact (for now), per KTLA.
The outlet reports that the City of Los Angeles has listed the Arby's sign as potentially historic and eligible to become a local landmark.
On April 1, California enacted a new minimum wage law for fast-food workers that mandates that all employees in the industry must be paid at least $20 per hour.
For a fast food joint to be considered covered by the new law, there must be 60 or more restaurants (all of which are without table servers) in the chain and customers must pay for their food in advance while dining at the chain.
Earlier this month, West Coast burger chain In-N-Out revealed that it has been quietly raising menu prices since April to keep up with the wage bumps.
"On April 1st, we raised our prices incrementally to accompany a pay raise for all of the Associates working in our California restaurants. The price increase was also necessary to maintain our quality standards," a spokesperson for the chain told local outlet KTVU.
Arby's did not immediately respond to BIZ Experiences's request for comment.
