Several San Jose restaurants are adding a 4 percent surcharge now that minimum wage in the city went from $10.50 to $12 an hour on July 1.
Owners NBC Bay Area talked to said they had two options: raise all the prices on their menus or add a separate, distinct surcharge, which was easier to explain to customers.
Many customers interviewed Thursday said they are not particularly happy to see costs go up, but said it is literally the price to pay for the city's voter-approved hike in minimum wage.
"I think it's really important if you're going to have good service to take good care of your people," customer April Dedini said.
City officials overseeing compliance anticipate seeing virtually all restaurants raise prices or add a surcharge.
Meanwhile, some residents are worried that trying to keep up with the rising minimum wage will take its toll.
"Will it hurt businesses? I don't know, but definitely in the short term it'll hurt business owners," San Jose-resident Ian Siewierski said.
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Minimum wage in San Jose is scheduled to reach $15 an hour by 2019.
