Seattle's new $20 minimum wage claims first restaurant casualty as Bebop Waffle Shop closes doors

Seattle’s minimum wage rose higher than $20 per hour on New Year’s Day, much too costly for some business owners, and the law has now claimed its first business casualty.

The minimum wage for all Seattle employees, regardless of business size, jumped to $20.76 on January 1. In 2024, if a worker earned at least $2.72 per hour in medical benefits or tips, the business only had to pay its employees $17.25 per hour. But now, for those businesses that featured tips, the change to the minimum wage was a 20 percent increase. Seattle's increase is $4 more than Washington State’s minimum wage requirement.

Corina Luckenbach, owner of the Bebop Waffle Shop in West Seattle told Fox 13, "This is financially just not going to make sense anymore. Because, just for me, the increase would cost me $32,000 more dollars a year."

Luckenbach has operated the business for over a decade but on Monday closed her doors permanently. She told the outlet she supports paying employees more but cannot afford it, adding, “I’ve cried every day.”

"Especially after the election, I think the hardest thing for me to close has been taking away a safe place for people," she said. "The stories of what it meant to people to come in and feel safe and feel welcomed, I just didn’t know. I didn’t know how much I affected people, and it's been really beautiful and cool to find that out.”

Since April 2024, when California’s Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom's $20 minimum wage law took effect, thousands of jobs have been lost from the state's restaurant industry. Businesses have been forced to cut hours and increase prices to survive the costly wage increase, resulting in mass layoffs.

Popular burger joint Shake Shack closed six of its California locations due to the minimum wage increase. Other well-known restaurants, including McDonald's, Burger King, Starbucks, and In-N-Out Burger, had to raise prices to cover costs. Many of the franchises were forced to reduce employee hours, and some transitioned to automation.