Fast-food franchisees in California fear diners will flock to Chili's and Applebee's to avoid price hikes. As a result, the price gap between fast-food and casual dining restaurants could narrow. This could potentially cause the price difference between fast-food and casual dining restaurants to shrink. Fast-food restaurants in California have been hiking prices to offset the wage, which is 25% above the state's general minimum wage. "We're gonna start to compete with them," Ghai said, speaking about the casual dining restaurants.

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Persons: —, Shane Paul, Paul, Scott Olson, Taco Bell, Ghai, he's, wouldn't, Scott Rodrick, Rodrick, Hajime Uba, Brian Vaccaro, Raymond James, Sal Vitalie, Vaccaro, Sharon Zackfia, William Blair Organizations: Service, Burger Locations: California, San Diego, South San Francisco