Wages up. Beef up. SBA harder. Here's your plan.

Three forces are hitting one payroll this month: a higher Michigan wage floor, new scheduling penalties, and a delivery bill that still eats ~30 cents on every dollar. 56% of consumers ate out last week — the fight isn't foot traffic, it's margin. Let's protect the dollars.

Steal this: Pull your last 30 days of third-party orders and recost them at 3% direct processing — that gap is your direct-ordering budget.

Stat: Same-store sales rose 1.6% in February while traffic fell 2.0% — you're serving fewer guests for more dollars.

Labor: Michigan's minimum jumps to $13.73 on Jan 1 (tipped at 42%), then $15.00 in 2027 — model the bump now.

Tool: A scheduling app that locks shifts 14 days out beats paying predictability penalties where those laws apply.

Tactic: Beef is up 3.1% YoY while eggs and dairy soften — reprice the burger, hold the omelet.

Michigan's minimum wage rises to $13.73 on January 1. Predictive scheduling rules in a growing list of cities now require posting schedules 14 days out — miss either and it costs you.

Why it hits your P&L:

• Wage floor. $13.73 Jan 1, $15.00 in 2027, tipped wages pinned at 42% — every scheduled hour costs more.
• Predictability pay. Change a posted shift late and some jurisdictions make you pay a penalty on top of wages.
• Coverage creep. Thresholds run from 10 to 500 employees by jurisdiction — you may be covered without realizing it.

💡 Why it matters: Your two biggest controllable levers — wage rate and hours — are both getting new rules at once. Build the January schedule against the new floor and the posting deadline before it's an emergency.

Bottom line: Lock your January labor model and your posting calendar this month, not in December.

USDA's May outlook puts beef and veal up 3.1% year over year. Eggs, dairy, and fats are projected to fall through 2026 — but tariffs and short distribution crews keep deliveries unpredictable.

🔴 Up: beef and veal +3.1% YoY; tariffs and distributor labor gaps add delivery risk. 🔵 Down: eggs, dairy, and fats projected to decline through 2026.

Why it hits your P&L:

• Center-plate cost. Beef-heavy menus carry the increase straight to your food line.
• Supply risk. Tariffs and short distribution crews mean late or partial deliveries — line up a backup vendor.
• Menu mix. Softer egg and dairy prices make breakfast and baked items your margin friends right now.

💡 Why it matters: Beef hits your food line directly — there's no hiding it. But eggs and dairy are softening, and that's a real margin window on breakfast and baked items. Use it before the window closes.

Your move: Reprice your beef items and tilt specials toward eggs and dairy while they're cheap.

DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub commissions still run ~30% per order. Ordering direct costs roughly 3% in processing.

🔴 Third-party: ~30% commission per order — and the platform owns the customer. 🔵 Direct: ~3% processing — and the guest is yours to bring back.

Why it hits your P&L:

• Commission drag. On a $40 order, ~30% is ~$12 gone before food cost.
• Data ownership. Direct orders give you the email and the repeat visit.
• Channel mix. Shift even one in five third-party orders to direct and the savings compound.

💡 Why it matters: Delivery demand is real, but the channel you fill it through decides your margin. This is a good week to check your direct-ordering funnel.

Protect your margin: Add up your monthly third-party commission, then spend a fraction of it driving guests to order direct.

New SBA eligibility requirements are disqualifying applications from restaurants, construction, and health care, with a Congressional reversal still pending as of March 2026.

🔴 SBA loan: lower cost, longer terms — but slower, and now harder to qualify under the new rules. 🔵 Working capital advance: faster to fund, bridges buildout or equipment, and can stack on top of an SBA loan.

Why it hits your P&L:

• Timing. If a walk-in or buildout can't wait for a stalled SBA file, a shorter-term advance bridges the gap.
• Cost. SBA money is usually cheaper — worth the wait when the need isn't urgent.
• Stacking. A working capital advance can sit alongside an SBA loan, not replace it.

💡 Why it matters: The right tool depends on the clock. Match urgent, short-term needs to faster capital and patient, larger projects to SBA — and model the payment first either way.

Model the payment first: SBA for the patient, larger project; working capital for what can't wait.

Presented By RestaurantOwners.news. Know a fellow operator drowning in delivery fees and new scheduling rules? Forward them this edition — five minutes a morning beats learning it the hard way. They can subscribe free and read the same brief before the lunch rush.

• USDA Food Price Outlook — where beef, eggs, and dairy are headed in 2026.
• Third-Party Delivery Fees in 2026 — what DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub really cost.
• Michigan Minimum Wage — the 2026 and 2027 numbers, plus tipped rate.
• Predictive Scheduling Laws 2026 Map — who's covered and at what employee count.
• City-by-City Scheduling Guide — 14-day posting and predictability pay rules.
• New SBA Policy Threat — the rule disqualifying restaurant loans.
• Restaurant Supply Chain News — tariffs and distribution labor compounding in 2026.
• 15% of Restaurants Could Close in 2026 — who's at risk and who's resilient.

RestaurantOwners.news is the five-minute morning brief for independent restaurant operators. We turn costs, labor, tech, and money news into moves you can make before the lunch rush. Written by operators, for operators.