A car drives down North 2nd Avenue past small boutique shops and a coffee house in downtown Newton, Iowa, September 9, 2007. The small community of Newton is dealing with the loss of nearly 2,600 jobs as the town's largest employer Maytag, manufacturer of washers/dryers, begins to shutter its operations after being taken over by rival appliance-maker Whirlpool. (David Lienemann/Chicago Tribune/MCT) (Susan Hogan — MCT/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Minnesota's more than 9,000 restaurants, eateries and cafes were hit hard by the Great Recession.

During difficult economic times, our customers choose between paying the weekly grocery bill and taking the family out for breakfast or dinner. That means that fewer steaks, pancakes and chicken dinners are served, and that fewer tips are left on the tables.

Even as the economy recovers, the restaurant industry's economic health remains uncertain at best. The price of beef, poultry, vegetables and dairy continue to rise sharply.

The cost of food now accounts for more than 40 percent of the price of each meal. This economic uncertainty makes it hard for restaurant owners to plan for the future.

A majority of Minnesota's restaurants are small businesses, many family-owned.

Across the state, you can find charming restaurants like Anton's in Waite Park, a family-owned and -operated restaurant open for more than 40 years. Most of Anton's employees are related to one another, making it a true family restaurant.

Wanda Oland started as a dishwasher and server at the age of 15 before she opened Rascals Bar and Grill in Apple Valley in 1994. With more than 40 years in the restaurant industry, she understands the hard work that servers, cooks and managers perform every day to keep her restaurant open.

She treats her employees like family, which explains why almost every one of her employees has worked at Rascals for at least 12 years. Restaurants like Rascals and Anton's are the backbone of Main Street Minnesota.

One of the biggest challenges for Main Street restaurants is planning for minimum-wage increases. In 2009, the last time the minimum wage was increased, a local midsized restaurant in Worthington saw its payroll costs increase by approximately $30,000.

A vast majority of the additional costs could not be passed on to customers because of the recession. Too often, it requires restaurants to lay off staff or cut shifts.

To help bring some certainty to the restaurant industry, the Legislature needs to help restaurant owners plan for future minimum-wage increases. Our proposed Main Street Restaurant Wage would guarantee that servers make a base wage of at least $7.25 an hour, in addition to tips.

When the minimum wage increases, servers who earn less than $12 an hour total, with tips, would be paid the new minimum wage. Those earning more than $12 an hour total would remain at the current wage.

Without a doubt, restaurant servers comprise one of the hardest-working professions in the hospitality industry. Our wage proposal ensures that servers are not penalized for their hard work.

Servers will not earn less than they do today under this proposal. It keeps Minnesota's servers making the highest wages in the Midwest and seventh-highest in the country.

The Main Street Restaurant Wage also helps our restaurants and their servers in seasonal areas. In places like Brainerd, Bemidji and Alexandria, the number of customers will vary based on the season.

If there is snow on the ground, our restaurants benefit from the skiers and snowmobilers. Winters like 2012 result in fewer customers and tips. Our wage proposal helps servers in those areas by providing them higher wages during the off-peak seasons and slower shifts.

Unfortunately, some politicians have tainted any conversation on helping restaurants and servers. Some have made outrageous claims that servers make more than $100,000 a year.

Others have claimed that restaurants are out to cut server wages to make higher profits. The folks at Rascals and Anton's surely aren't interested in slashing their families' wages.

Minnesota's restaurants ask legislators to stop politicizing an issue that affects restaurants and their 178,000 employees. The best tip we can leave legislators is that now is the time to preserve Main Street businesses and good-paying jobs.

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Dan McElroy is executive vice president of the Minnesota Restaurant Association.