Fast food workers blindsided by sudden closure of Fosters Freeze in Lemoore

LEMOORE, Calif. (FOX26) — Employees at Fosters Freeze in Lemoore are out of a job.

Assistant General Manager Monica Navarro says she was called Monday morning by her boss who was at the restaurant to open, only to find the locks were being changed.

[RELATED] New $20 minimum wage for fast food workers in California set to start Monday

Navarro said she thought it was an April Fools joke.

"I was so caught off guard. We had no type of notice, no type of warning either. I mean the owner had told me happy easter," she said.

And she wasn't the only one.

"We had gotten a text in the group chat that we were shutting down, and I completely thought it was an April Fools joke," said former employee Jason Boado.

After learning it was real, she drove to the restaurant on Hanford Armona Rd, where the owner was handing out final paychecks.

Navarro says the owner, Loren Wright, had previously told her the $20 minimum wage increase for fast food workers was going to be really hard on him.

She said he did not tell her or any of the other workers that he was going to close.

"I walked in, and he had just immediately said you guys are out of a job; I'm sorry," said Boado.

Navarro says she started working three years ago and worked her way up to assistant GM.

She is a full-time student at Fresno State and was planning to work there until graduation.

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She was excited about the wage increase and felt like she was stabbed in the back for not getting any kind of notice.

"Please be nice to your fast food workers," said Navarro. "They're going to be getting their hours severely cut running small, small shifts. They're going to have people yelling at them for the menu increases."

Restaurant owners have been preparing for the hit by warning of reduced hours, laying off workers, and even replacing them with automation.

In a text from Loren Wright, he stated that he couldn't survive the mandated wage increases:

I tried to the end to try to figure out a way to make it work. Last thing I ever wanted was to close down," he said. "By Friday night I knew I was most likely not gonna be able to stay open but I didn't want to ruin their Easter Sunday. Small businesses can't survive a 120% plus min wage increase over the last 10 years. We are all more broke than we were 10 years ago its clear raising min wage isn't helping....I am sad to see my employees off, and sad to see lemoore off. This location has been in business for 35+ years and lemoore has been such a good place. It's painful to realize that raising min wage and regulating fast foods are putting people put if business but that is the path california leadership has taken. Thank u to my staff for everything and thank u lemoore for all the support over the years."

"Now they're getting laid off. They're losing their jobs," restaurant owner Angela Marsden told Fox News host Dana Perino. "Gavin Newsom, I hope the United States is watching. I hope he never becomes president. This man is destroying California. I don't understand why people can't see that he's the biggest trickster of all time."

“The implementation of this bill will have serious consequences for both small business owners and employees,” said Caucus Chair Kelly Seyarto (R-Murrieta). “We need to enable our small businesses to be successful and create jobs in California. This bill does just the opposite and furthers California’s inflation woes.”

“It’s already too difficult for families to be able to afford this state,” said Senator Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh (R-Yucaipa). “What we need to be doing is working to lower living costs and increase opportunities for growth, not the other way around.”

“As a small-business owner, I know that doing business in California is becoming increasingly difficult,” said Senator Brian Dahle (R-Bieber). “This was a big win for the labor bosses, but in reality, it hurts those trying to achieve economic mobility. This law will force businesses to reduce their employees' hours, automate services, or opt to do business in another state. It's unfortunate that labor activists are destroying California's economy and the entrepreneurial spirit that has always been a part of our state.”