RADIOJanuary 09, 2024

How a $15 minimum wage led to a $16 BLT

Is $16 a ridiculous price to pay for a BLT sandwich? In today's crazy market, maybe not. Entrepreneur Brian Will believes it all traces back to the $15 minimum wage craze. Progressives promised that the increase would help people afford the basics of life. But in reality, it has just driven up prices, especially for small businesses. Brian Will joins Glenn to explain how this, plus the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and other economic issues have driven up the price of everything from rent to insurance. Now, he tells Glenn that his restaurants have to sell 93,000 sandwiches just to break even and he reveals the shockingly small profit that the restaurants make on every $16 BLT.

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: You've gone into restaurants lately, and you've been shocked at the price of anything. Soups, sandwiches. To steak. Anything.

You can fall into, what's going on, this is a scam!

How can a BLT be 16 bucks?

We wanted to get Brian Will on. He's a serial entrepreneur, two-time Wall Street Journal best-selling author.

Leading consultant in business and sales management. He's founded seven different companies across four distinct industries. He is currently the head of a chain of restaurants.

And they are the Derby Sports Bar. Cantina Loca. The Tavern House in Central City Tavern. You might have one in your town.

He's also in his spare time a member of the city council in the town of Alpharetta, Georgia.

Hope we have time to talk about that a little bit.

But he was just on talking about the price of a BLT on Barney & Company.

And everyone on my staff, Brian, found that fascinating, on how you broke that down. How are you doing, Brian?

BRIAN: I'm good, Glenn. Thanks for having me. This is awesome.

GLENN: So can you break this down, why should we look at the price of $16 for a BLT, and say, okay. I understand it, it's reasonable.

BRIAN: Yeah. This whole conversation, Glenn, started with a friend of mine. Who sent me this text, when he was sitting with my restaurant saying, hey, Brian, I'm sitting here eating your BLT at $16. You know it's only bacon, lettuce, tomato, and bread.

And I said, you know, Dan, let me break this down for you. I want to give you some perspective.

That sandwich might cost $16, but we've got $20,000 of rent in that building.

We've got $6,000 in utility. We have $60,000 of payroll. And then we have our general office expenses, that all have to get paid for out of the gross profit margin in that sandwich.

And so we actually did a breakdown for that, if you would like to hear this little breakdown.

GLENN: I do. I do.

BRIAN: That $16 sandwich has about $5 of actual food costs. Which leaves about $11 of gross profit.

But out of that 11, two dollars of that, goes towards rent and utilities. $2.50 goes towards what we call our fixed operational expenses like the TVs and the music and the mats and the towels and all that stuff.

Labor can make that sandwich, $4.50.

Which only leaves me a profit of $2.

So a 16 dollar sandwich, I have $2 of actual net profit that I get to keep, unless or until something breaks or something goes wrong. That's my gross potential net profit.

GLENN: So how many BLTs do you have to sell to be able to keep your doors open?

BRIAN: Yeah, so I was laughing about that. If you take our $86,000 a month in general expenses, figure in a 30 percent food cost, we have to sell 93,000 sandwiches a year to get to zero.

Every restaurant has a break even point, the break even point in that restaurant is about 1.5 million a year. So if I do 1,499,000 in revenue, I lose a thousand bucks.

Everything above 1.5, we can make a profit margin on. But if you never get to the 1.5, you're just spinning your wheels.

GLENN: So what has changed?

I mean, it's not just the price of food, is it?

BRIAN: No. Food has gone up.

But our biggest increase in expenses has been labor.

If you remember, obviously, when COVID hit. Everybody is getting all these extended unemployment benefits.

When we came out of COVID. And tried to bring people back. They didn't want to go back to work.

So we went to a $15 minimum, and that's for kids coming out of high school. And this was three years ago. That's now jumped up to about 16.50. So I have people, with zero experience, 18 years old. Come to work for me, and we start them out at $33,000.

But for now, 60,000 -- our managers are now 70 to 80,000.

So if you look at my restaurant, three years ago. We were paying 500,000 for labor.

On 2.9 million of revenue. Today, we pay 650,000 for labor.

On 2.5 million of revenue. My revenue is down 350. My labor is up 150.

And that's why we have to keep driving the price of these things up.

Everyone wants to get paid. They want a big salary. They want a living wage. But all that does is drive everything up. At some point, we still have to make a profit.

GLENN: Right. This is what happened in Seattle, except they did it by choice.

When Seattle raised the minimum wage. I don't remember what it was. I think it was 15 or $16 an hour.

All the restaurants said, we can't afford this.

And a lot of them left, closed shop, and left Seattle.

Some of them stayed. And some of them just went out of business because of it.

But that's not the only cost.

You have food going up. You have labor going up. You have rent --

BRIAN: Utilities went up 40 percent.
Just our gas and electric. Right? Our insurance went up 40 percent. Everything is -- I mean, the whole supply chain from us down, everybody's cost goes up in that compound.

GLENN: Wait. Why did insurance go up 40 percent?

BRIAN: Because they can. I mean, I don't -- is that a question?

Because you have no choice, but to buy it. Because if you don't buy it, you can't stay in business.

So it goes up, you know. It's crazy how much costs have gone up.

GLENN: So how do you see us weathering this?

BRIAN: You know, business is interesting. I have a picture in my office of a guy on a tight rope. And he's got that big long bar, right? That goes on both sides.

I always say, we have to balance. Business owners are on this tightrope. You have to balance what you can charge on one end. With what the consumers are willing to pay on the other. So long as you can keep that balance. You can stay on the tightrope and stay in business.

But if you charge too much, they stop coming. You fall off.

If you don't charge enough, you get more business at a loss. You go out of business.

So there's always a balance. And in our case, we made sure we put our locations in, in what we call high traffic areas.

So we're getting organic traffic running around our restaurants. Which helps us drastically. But you look at these small operators, that are out there fighting all these costs. That don't have that organic type of traffic.

And that's why they're going under.

GLENN: I mean, you're a serial entrepreneur.

What do you hear from entrepreneurs, that are just beginning today? I mean, it's -- it's a completely different world. Can you make it?

BRIAN: It is. It's a different world in a lot of ways. And I actually do a lot of sales and management training.

And one of the other things we know. In today's environment. Is there's so much information online. That people can research almost anything before they ever walk in your door.

And they already know what your competition is charging.

They already know what they should be paying. And, so again, you're back to this balance of you either need to create something extremely unique, that will drive people in, and make them want to buy from you, or your chances of success are diminished greatly.

So I call COVID the great washout, Glenn.

All the weak operators in Houston, to be able to make it, because we were in a booming economy.

When COVID hit, it just washed out all those weak operators, and only left the ones that are strong.

Now, you've got people coming in behind us, and trying to come in and undercut. But all they will do is lose all their money, and go out of business, and hurt the rest of us.

It's an interesting time to be in business.

GLENN: But if you were a true entrepreneur, it washed out of a lot of people who were just -- you know, my dad used to have his own bakery. That is hard keeping that afloat.

You know, a one little, one-man shop in whatever you're doing.

And food is the worst at that. It wiped out a lot of people who were just working for themselves.

BRIAN: Yeah. Yeah. Just working for themselves, and only making enough money to live on. And most people got washed out, didn't have any financial security behind them, savings.

You know, they just weren't able to weather that bump, which is one of the things I teach entrepreneurs today.

Is you better have enough security behind you, that if the next COVID comes along or something weird happens, you won't get wiped out, at the drop of a hat.

We make up 150 people a day, in March of 2020. It was -- it was a horrible day.

GLENN: Wow. Your thoughts of what's coming in 2024? Any insight in --

BRIAN: Yeah. I've had this question a good bit. And I have friends in the MNA field. And I see everybody waiting to see what will happen with this election. We just don't know what will happen.

I think if Biden gets elected again. He doesn't have to worry about getting reelected.

So who knows what will happen, you know, with the people pulling the strings up there in Washington, and what they're going to do.

So I think we're at a tenuous time right now, particularly in small business. So we need to be very careful.

And we need to be keeping some powder dry, to keep us safe, just in case something else pops up.

GLENN: If Donald Trump were to be elected, he doesn't go to jail.

And the left doesn't set the country on fire. Better or worse for business?

BRIAN: If he can start taking some of these regulations away. If he can start making it easier for us to get those interest rates back down.

I mean, the other issue we have, and I love this topic. I did a video on it the other day about inflation.

Inflation will affect us forever. Right?

We had a 5 percent. We had an 8 percent.

Even if it's 3 percent, that doesn't mean prices are going down.

That just means they compound.

They're never going back down.

Maybe they won't go up as much, but they're not going back down.

People are very confused on how that works.

But if we can get the economy booming again, where people aren't afraid to spend their money. And they aren't hoarding it, trying to wait to see what will happen. Then people will go out. Have fun. And spend more money. And I think we will be okay. It just takes a little time.

GLENN: Yeah. Brian, thank you very much. I really appreciate it.

BRIAN: Glenn, I thank you for having me.

GLENN: Brian Will.

THE GLENN BECK PODCAST

Why Your Actions Matter More Than Words in the Eyes of God

Glenn Beck and Eric Metaxas expose the spiritual crisis gripping America’s churches — a moment they compare to Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s warning before World War II. As the culture descends into moral confusion, too many Christians retreat into silence, claiming faith while refusing to act. Together, they argue that true belief demands courage — that “faith without works is dead” — and warn that neutrality in the face of evil is itself a form of complicity.

Watch the FULL Interview HERE

Is Socialism replacing the American dream?

The American Dream used to mean freedom and the chance to build your own life through hard work, faith, and independence. But today, it’s been replaced by comfort, consumption, and debt. Glenn Beck breaks down how America traded liberty for lifestyle, why socialism is gaining ground, and what it will take to reclaim the real American Dream before it disappears for good.

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: I don't know if you saw the visualizing the American dream, Stu.

You know, what the American dream actually is, is that you can forge your own way.

You can -- you know, you can have a scrap of land, and grow your own food if up.

You can, you know, go to school. Not go to school.

You can find a job. If you're qualified for it, you have an equal chance of getting it, you know, based on merit.

But the percentage of Americans who say the American dream is retirement is 86 percent. Health care, 86 percent. Owning a home, 85. Raising two kids, 78. Owning a car, 72. Vacations, 71. Pets, 66. A wedding, 55 percent. That's the American dream, I can get married.

The American dream, if that's what you think, they've now estimated, the cost per household over the cost -- over the lifetime, retirement is $1.6 million. Owning a home now, 30-year mortgage, 20 percent you want to, is $957,594. Owning a car, buying and finance to begin with new cars every ten years is now $900,000 over your lifetime. Raising two kids to 18, plus four years of public college, $876,092. Two kids. Health care, over your lifetime, spending from ages 22 to 85, $414,000. Vacations, annual vacation from '22 to '85, $180,000. One dog and one cat for 11 to 13 years is $40,000!

That's more expensive than a wedding. The engagement ring, the ceremony, and the reception is now estimated to be $38,200.

There's a reason socialism is doing well. You look at that, and you're like, wow. I mean, if that's the American dream. And for a lot of people, that is the American dream!

That's not what the American dream is supposed to be, but, you know, once -- you know, once Woodrow Wilson and FDR got a hold of us and they started advertising, it became stuff instead of freedom. It became stuff. And, you know, when there's a new report out. Let me see if I have that.

There's a new report out now that shows, first time home buyers made up just 21 percent of the home purchases. That's the lowest on record.

The typical age of repeat buyers hit an all-time high of '62. The median downtowns, reaching 23 percent.

The highest since 2023.

And also, where is it?

The last one is -- the median age for first time home buyers, in 1981, it was 29 years old.

I'm sorry. Yeah. Twenty-nine years old. In 2021, it was 33 years old.

What is it this year?

Median age, first time homeowner, forty.

You're 40 before you can buy any kind of home. That puts these things that people want, dream about, out of reach, until you're 40?

You know, 29 is one thing. But if you're not seeing -- you're not seeing your life really kind of settling down until you're 40, I -- I can understand why you're like, you know what, this system doesn't work.

Because you've never seen it work. It's betrayed you.

Or so you've been sold. It's betrayed you.

And everything is being pushed out of your reach. And when you're young, the one thing you're not is patient.

And at 40, I can see why people are not, you know, yeah. Well, socialism is neat because capitalism isn't working. How would you respond to that?

STU: I mean, it's more lengthy than we have time for. But I would say that the response to, you know, you thinking that you want a home is not to embrace an ideology that murders 100 million people.

That's not -- that's not a good answer to the problem that you think you have.

GLENN: But they're not learning that anywhere.

They're not -- that is our responsibility! To teach those things. Because they're not learning it anywhere.

Glenn Beck Warns of 3 Economic Outcomes That Could Change EVERYTHING | Ep 467

Socialism is spreading fast among America’s youth, and the shocking election of Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani for mayor in New York City marks a major cultural and economic shift. Glenn exposes how runaway debt, record home prices, AI job disruption, and the collapsing stake in capitalism have led many Millennials and members of Gen Z to embrace socialism and communism. He reveals the three possible economic futures for 2026: two that are disastrous and one that could change everything if the Trump administration’s global financial overhaul succeeds. Plus, Justin Haskins, president of the Heartland Institute, joins to reveal some terrifying truths about why young Americans are embracing socialism from a poll he conducted with Rasmussen Reports.

Glenn Beck warns: We're already in World War III

"The world doesn't understand yet. We're already in World War III," Glenn Beck warns. "That foe is not China. That foe is militant Islam." Glenn explains the battle we're currently facing and what's to come if we don't wake up soon...

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: From New Jersey, it's Brian. Hello, Brian.

CALLER: Hello!

GLENN: Hey.

CALLER: Yeah. Thanks for taking the calls today.

GLENN: Sure.

CALLER: Yeah. I'm worried that we are headed towards another French Revolution-style because we have entire generations. Or actually people just not being heard by their representatives.

GLENN: Hmm.

CALLER: And it's not just here. It's around the world.

GLENN: Uh-huh.

I -- actually, I had scheduled for this time, I'll just do it some other time. Talking about what's happening in -- in England.

I think England is headed for a Civil War. And -- and it's very close.

I mean, you can't put 4,000 people. 4,000 people, in jail, or try them for hate crimes. And speech crimes.

You can't -- you can't do it. In England!

You can't do that in one year. And expect people to just put up with it!

You can't -- you know, we're -- we're -- America doesn't understand yet.

The world doesn't understand.

We're in World War III. We're already in World War III.

I don't know when it becomes a hot war. Or even a war that we on our side recognize. But we are in World War III. And that -- that foe is not China.

That foe is militant Islam, period. And, you know, when we have a situation to where people are -- when the government is just like, no. It's not a problem.

It's not a problem. You know. You've got illegals all over.

It's not a problem.

It's not a problem.

It is a problem. Don't tell me what -- what the problems are not!

Because we're the ones living it!

You're the experts, who keep telling us, no. It's going to work out fine.

And it doesn't work out fine. And it just gets worse and worse.

Oh. We can spend this money. No. It looks like we can't spend this money. Oh, we can afford this. No. It looks like we can't afford this.

You know, if we do this with Ukraine, it will work out fine. No, it didn't, did it? These endless wars, all of this stuff, don't tell me what the problem is. Listen to the people and start talking to the people. Honestly, this is the reason why I'm doing this today. I -- I need to hear from you.

I need to know what's on your mind, so I stay focused and -- and clear on what America is saying.

Because I don't think -- look, you know, me taking phone calls is -- is not a true representation of anything, but it does give me a sense of -- of where you are, as an audience. Maybe not as America, but as an audience. And there are lots of things that concern me. But I want to hear it from you.
But I think you're right! We're headed for real, real trouble. All you need is real economic trouble.

You start getting real, true economic trouble. 1930s kind of depression stuff. And we're in Civil War.

Dan, Oregon. Welcome!

CALLER: Hello, Glenn. How are you?

GLENN: I'm great!

CALLER: Yeah. Good. It's been a long time.

I guess it's been over ten years, since I've had a chance to talk with you. I was one of your first insiders. I was listening to you, since you were in Florida.

GLENN: Wow. Wow.

CALLER: So it's been a long -- yeah. It has been. And I can't say I've enjoyed all of it.
(laughter)

GLENN: Neither have I!

STU: I can't say that either, I'll be honest with you.

CALLER: You know, you were talking on yesterday's show, reminiscing with Stu about how you guys started. And I remember those old shows. And, you know, at the end of the -- the fusion of entertainment and enlightenment.

STU: Hmm.

GLENN: Right.

CALLER: And there was a lot more entertainment. I remember I laughed a lot.

GLENN: Oh, yeah. I know. I know. Those days are long dead.
(laughter)

STU: There's nothing to laugh about now.

CALLER: Yeah. I -- I'm 78. I still work 40 hours a week. I love my job.

GLENN: Good for you.

CALLER: Been married for 55 years. I have seven kids.

GLENN: Good for you.

CALLER: I've got a daughter -- I've got a daughter who is in her 40s. And she has severe TDS. She -- we don't -- I mean, we're not cutting each other off. She hasn't done that at all. We're still very close as a family. But she was down visiting the other day, and got into a conversation with my wife. And I wasn't in the room. But Kathy said it was just like listening to one of those young people out on the street that was being interviewed by the news media. And she was -- and she was in tears about it. My wife and my daughter both.

And, I mean, I love her, and I continue to support her. She's a single woman, not by choice. She just never found the right guy.

GLENN: Yeah.

CALLER: And I really think that's part of the problem. Because she started reading -- back when Trump was first running, she started reading all of this stuff about him being misogynistic and all of this stuff.

GLENN: Yeah. Yeah.

CALLER: And it's just gotten worse. I -- I'm at a loss. I really am. Because I -- like, I see the country doing better. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. But I still feel like that at least right now, we're doing better as a whole. But what do we do about -- what do we do about our kids about -- she went to Portland State University for the last two --

GLENN: Oh, jeez, for the love of --

CALLER: Well, yeah. For the last two years, she went to -- she went to a little college in Idaho called Ricks for the first two years, and Utah State.

GLENN: Oh, yeah.

CALLER: And then she served a mission for our church in Brazil and came home, but then she went to Portland State University. And it just seems to have gone downhill from there.

GLENN: Yeah. Yeah. So, Dan, I think you are suffering from the same thing that almost all parents are suffering from. If you're not suffering from this, then, I mean, God bless you. You know, get on your knees and thank God. Because you are a lucky, lucky family. Everybody has in their family. I have it in my family.

And you have to ask yourself, what is your goal?

My -- what is your goal with your daughter? Your real goal?

CALLER: My real goal is for us to be united eternally. That's my goal. That's my goal as a father and has been to teach her --

GLENN: And how -- and how is that going to happen with politics?

CALLER: We just stay together as a family regardless of what politics does.

GLENN: That's exactly right. Exactly right.

I think we're in a place now where as parents, you can ask your kids, but it has to be honest. It cannot be trying to win. It has to be honest. How did you get there?

I mean, I remember. You know, we've talked about this before. And you didn't believe that before. What has changed?

Can you help me with that?

I would like to see what you're reading, or what that was.

And just ask questions. But they have to be honest. They can't be, you know, because I'm setting you up. Because I want to change your mind.

But keep a dialogue open with them. And just love them!

Just love them!

Because if you do anything else, you're going to drive them away. And then they're really lost. So just love them.

CALLER: Oh, I know that. Glenn, when she was young -- when she was young, I considered her one of the elect. And the Scripture says, that in the last days, even the elect are going to be deceived. And that's what I'm seeing. But everything you've said, I -- I am doing. I'm doing it that way. Because I know --

GLENN: Okay. Good. Then you didn't need to -- I appreciate it. I'm so glad you called me. But you didn't need to -- my advice, you already have it down. You're a very wise man.