Popular French bistro to close following minimum wages hikes

Coup des Tartes has been serving French cuisine for the last 22 years. This month will be its last.

"Coup des Tartes is an institution here and we've celebrated many thousand of anniversaries, birthdays, everything," said owner Ron Pacioni.

Pacioni was forced to relocate the bistro from a previous spot in 2015. Still recovering from the cost of the move, he says the minimum wage hike and new labor laws tipped his budget over the edge.

As of the new year, Arizona's minimum wage went up to $10.50. It'll increase gradually until it hits $12 in 2020.

"It's the paid leave and all those other items going into effect. It just puts a strain on a struggling restaurant," said Pacioni.

He says business has been steady, but that's still not enough to keep the doors open here.

"Restaurants work on such small margins, so anything that tips that scale is going to hurt the bottom line."

Rather than cut quality to save costs, Pacioni decided to close the doors for good. The restaurant's last day will be Jan. 31.

"It's terribly sad but it is what it is," said Pacioni, thanking his customers for years of patronage.