My example was with simple numbers to illustrate a point that employee pay isn't directly tied to price of an item or the profit made. Also not every employee is paid the same. Maybe line cooks are getting a raise. Maybe the hostess doesn't expect one. Managers and what ever are already paid more.

> a National Restaurant Association publication that said the average restaurant runs about a 29.9 percent labor cost without taxes, benefits and insurance, and about 34 percent with taxes,

So your 40% number is way off. Also hourly rate doesn't effect other labor costs