Without profit, someone doesn't get paid. If you don't pay the landlord he can kick you out. If you don't pay the electric company, you can't keep the lights on. If you don't pay the gas bill, the gas company can turn off your heater and your stove. If you don't pay your vendors, you can't by food to cook and sell. If you don't pay your Internet Service Provider, you can't run credit cards. If you don't pay the bank you've got a loan with, they can shut your whole operation down.

Restaurants are notoriously low margin and owner-operator endeavors. So more often than not, the first person that doesn't get paid is the owner, who sinks hour after hour into the place to try and keep the doors open. But eventually the owner has to pay their own mortgage, car payment, etc.

So while profit may not be the ultimate objective of every human activity, it is essential if you want to stay in business. And if you don't? Your workers find out the hard way that the real minimum wage is $0.