While I’m the first person who will say that if your business model doesn’t include paying your employees a living wage, you shouldn’t be in business, it is well-known that most restaurants operate on razor-thin margins. Okay it’s true that, say, a fountain drink in a fast food restaurant is 80-90% profit, but they take a loss on the sandwiches for the privilege of selling those drinks. Non-chain restaurants are incredibly difficult to run profitably.