Times should be good again soon for restaurants in St. Louis. Missouri is cutting the minium wage back to $7.70 again after St. Louis had hiked it to $10 two months ago and it was to go up another $1 in January.

But state lawmakers pre-empted the local action, passing a bill overruling St. Louis and returning the minimum wage to $7.70.

It’s aimed at restaurateurs like Amer Hawatmeh, who invoked a Kennedy-esque obligation on his workers at his struggling establishment, according to CBS News.

“That’s how I built myself,” he said. “That’s how I’m teaching my children to build themselves. Don’t ask what do I get, ask what can I do.”

The “new” minimum wage is slightly higher than the federal $7.25 minimum wage, which Congress hasn’t raised since 2009. Adjusted for inflation, it would be worth $8.40 today.

Related: Opponents of $15 minimum wage get new ammunition with Seattle study (NewsCut)