As the Ohio minimum wage rises by 2.8%, small restaurant owners express concerns about increased costs
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The minimum wage in Ohio has been raised to $11 an hour for employees who do not receive tips and to $5.50 an hour for tipped employees in 2026.
However, some small restaurant owners have expressed concerns about how rising minimum wages could affect costs.
Columbus sports bar owner TJ Valentino told 10WBNS that increased costs for local businesses like his bar, Draft Day Columbus, could lead to higher prices and cause them to lose customers to chain restaurants.
“Everything’s expensive. Food prices go up, and when food prices go up, that then goes on to the guests,” Valentino told the station. “I don’t want to ever put my guests in a position where they have to come in and are like, ‘Why am I paying $25 for a burger when I can go down the street to a fast food restaurant and get it for $5?’”
In a December 2025 interview with ABC News 5, Cleveland chef and restaurant owner Kurtis Williams expressed concerns about how increased costs could result in fewer customers.
“Increasing the minimum wage is great for our workers. But it does take more from the business because we are giving more out, but we might not make more coming in because people might not shop more with us because they may be, ‘Like this is more expensive than what I can afford right now,” Williams told News 5.
Williams also stated that his vegan restaurant, Squash the Beef, merged with neighboring restaurant, Yum Village, last year to offset increasing costs.
The Ohio Chamber of Commerce stated that the threshold for which businesses state minimum wage laws apply to will rise in 2026, according to a December 2025 press release. The law will now apply to businesses with annual gross receipts exceeding $405,000, rather than the previous threshold of $394,000.
The minimum wage for employees of businesses with gross annual receipts below the threshold will be set at the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour.
Ohio has an indexed minimum wage as a result of a 2006 state constitutional amendment. Wages are raised each year to match the rate of inflation.
The 2026 minimum wage is a 2.8% increase from the 2025 minimum wage of $10.70 for nontipped workers and $5.35 for workers who receive tips.
