Ringing in the new year, a Democrat-controlled Seattle , law , increasing the minimum wage from$ 19.97 to$ 20.76 went into effect, forcing many restaurants to shut down in the first days of 2025. The town of Seattle’s minimum wage is a staggering$ 4 higher than the rest of the government’s, it also applies to both small and big businesses.
The Washington Hospitality Association forecast that the number of Seattle restaurant closures will increase by five to eight percent this season as a result of the cost of work. ” It’s just not sustainable”, Anthony Anton, president and chief executive officer of the Washington Hospitality Association, which represents cafes across the state , toldthe , Seattle Times.
Part of the law that varies from that in 2024 is that while least wage for most businesses in the town was$ 19.97 per minute, instances existed for small businesses, defined as those with 500 or fewer people.
Anton told the , Seattle Times , that cafes were already squeezed by higher prices and low profits. An hourly wage hike from$ 17.25 to$ 20.76 — representing a 20 % increase in labor costs— could force many businesses to close, Anton said. The trade association projects that in the Seattle area, the number of restaurants will decrease by 5 % to 8 % in 2025, adds the , outlet.
One indication of the quick implications is the horror of Seattle’s Bebop Waffle Shop, which had to close its doors for good on Monday after 10 years, user Corina Luckenbach told FOX13, reported on by , Breitbart.
” This was my dream. To own my own cafe, to run it how I want to, and to really, like, remain in service to people”, she said in an interview, after adding that she has” cried every day” about it.
The fresh minimum wage demands would have cost her an extra$ 32, 000 annually, and her breakfast cafe was currently struggling due to inflation and lower legs customers, according to Luckenbach.
” This is financially simply not going to make sense again”, she told the local station.
Bebop Waffle, named after its owner’s pet dog, was a” safe space” for people in the community, Luckenbach said, adding that the “hardest thing” about shutting down was taking that place away from people.
” The reports of like what it meant to people to come in and feel healthy and to feeling welcomed — I really, I didn’t know”, she said physically.
