Local coffee shop Manager Russell Dilillo stands in his store. (Hillary Jackson/Neon Tommy)

In coffee shops throughout East Hollywood, Mayor Eric Garcetti's proposed minimum wage hike has received a lukewarm response.

On Monday Mayor Eric Garcetti led a crowd of constituents in chanting “Raise the wage, L.A.!” after he announced a proposal for a gradual, citywide raise of the minimum wage. The plan would take current minimum wage from $9 per hour to $13.25 per hour by 2017. 

Coffee shops are staples in Los Angeles culture. With 4,130 Yelp listings for coffee available near Hollywood alone, the coffee industry has emerged as a vital cog in local commerce. While higher-paying coffee chains comprise many of the listings, many minimum-wage-paying local coffee shops are also present. Those in locally owned and operated coffee shops varying viewpoints on the new minimum wage increase proposal.

SEE ALSO: Business Owners Clash With Workers Over 'Raise The Wage'

The Helio Cafe Owner-Operator Elias Zacklin waits behind the counter of his cafe. (Hillary Jackson/Neon Tommy)

“I really enjoy this, but it’s a really tough business, the coffee business,” said The Helio Café Owner-Operator Elias Zacklin. “If you want good quality coffee it’s extremely expensive, you have to pass it on to the customer, so it’s a fine balance.”

This summer Zacklin had to let his small staff go because The Helio Café was not bringing in enough money. Zacklin is considering bringing back one of the staffers when he can afford it. For now, he is the sole worker in his café. With the raise in minimum wage, he may continue to work solo longer than he’d like. 

“It’s going to be really tough. It may or depending on how successful I can make this operation, it could break me,” he said. “I love my job, I love being here, but I am here every day seven days a week. There’s a limit to how much you can continue to do that.” 

If The Helio Café can routinely bring in $600 per day, Zacklin said he could afford to bring on a small staff. 

“I have to make it attractive enough for him to stay,” Zacklin said. “It’s hard to hire someone for just a couple days, so that’s the puzzle I have to solve. I’ve been funneling my own savings and my own money from other jobs to keep this thing a float, but the store isn’t making enough to pay for somebody. That’s just a fact. That’s just a sobering fact. I think a lot of companies are like that, a lot of businesses are like that I’m not alone, but I think it’s going to get harder.”

Barista Dane Errisson stands in Casablanca Coffee Lounge. (Hillary Jackson/Neon Tommy)

For others in larger, local coffee businesses, the raise in minimum wage doesn’t require restructuring. “I don’t think it’s that big of a deal, it’s a dollar an hour. The average employee works 25 hours, that’s $25,” said Russell Dilillo, manager of a Hollywood coffee shop. “It’s not really that big of a deal when you’re making grands a day.” 

SEE ALSO: The Consequences Of Raising The Wage

According to the United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics, the leisure and hospitality industry has the highest proportion of workers at or below the federal minimum wage. Most of the industry’s workers worked in restaurants and food services. 

For Dane Errisson, his minimum-wage barista job at Casablanca Coffee Lounge covers a few extra bills. “I didn’t expect to come into a coffee shop in a part time job and make $15 an hour,” he said. “An increase in the minimum wage won't really hurt or affect me much…it’ll help me save.”

For shop owners like Zacklin, saving is not in the immediate future. 

“I think a lot of people are affected by this. I think a lot of people are clambering. If you’re very successful and making a lot of money then it’s not a problem. Then it’s just greed. But if you’re up and coming like myself, it’s all about numbers....But I'm for it.”

Reach Contributor Hillary Jackson here.