PORTLAND, Maine — As the city's minimum wage rises, Portland business owners, including those who support it, will be looking for ways to afford the increase.

On Tuesday, 62.7% of Portland voters cast their ballots to approve gradually increasing Portland’s minimum wage to $19 an hour in 2028, creating a situation with both support and opposition that business owners say is complicated.

At Maine Surfer’s Union , owner Charlie Fox sells his customers surfboards and wetsuits, but also coffee and t-shirts.

Fox says he supports the wage increase; in fact, he reports already paying his employees that much, “but we are maxed out on that,” he said.

Fox says his business has been riding the waves of financial strain, including a 10 percent drop in sales this year and rent tripling ov

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