Minimum wage increases take effect in 7 Bay Area cities

Some Bay Area workers will be seeing a boost in their next paycheck after the minimum wage increased in seven Bay Area cities Monday.

                  Alameda and Fremont moved to $13.50 an hour.
                  San Leandro jumped one dollar to $14 an hour.
                  Milpitas changed from $13.50 to $15 an hour.
                  San Francisco and Berkeley increased by 59 cents to $15.59 an hour.
                  Emeryville's minimum wage went up to $16.30 dollars an hour.

At Casa Azteca in Milpitas, half of the Mexican restaurant's 25 employees earn minimum wage.

The restaurant co-owner says the minimum wage hike will have an impact on the family-owned business, saying he has no choice but to pass the additional cost on to customers.

"The rent is going high. Cost of goods is going high. Minimum wage is going high. And we are just passing it to the customers," said co-owner Harihar Dahal.

Dahal says he's working on a new menu with higher prices he expects to be out next week.

"I have to. Otherwise I will be out of business," said Dahal.

Customer John Sevic eats at Casa Azteca several times a week and says he supports the minimum wage hike, even if his bill will be bigger.

"I guess $15 an hour is about $30,000 a year salary. Around here it's probably pretty hard to live on that salary," said Sevic.

 All the cities seeing increases sit above the current state minimum wage, which is $12 an hour. That is scheduled to increase gradually to $15 an hour by 2023.