A Seattle, Washington, small business owner says she has “cried every day” about the closure of her restaurant due to the state’s new minimum wage hike to over $20 per hour.
The Democrat-controlled city’s law increasing the minimum wage from $19.97 to $20.76 went into effect on the first day of 2025, Breitbart News reported.
Because of this, Bebop Waffle Shop had to close its doors for good on Monday after 10 years, owner Corina Luckenbach told FOX13:
“This was my dream. To own my own cafe, to run it how I want to, and to really, like, be in service to people,” she said in an interview, later adding that she has “cried every day” about it.
According to Luckenbach, her breakfast eatery was already struggling due to inflation and lower foot traffic, and the new minimum wage requirements would have cost her an additional $32,000 each year.
“This is financially just not going to make sense anymore,” she told the local station.
Seattle’s minimum wage — which is $4 higher than the rest of the state’s — applies to both small and big businesses.
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 stories of like what it meant to people to come in and feel safe and to feel welcomed — I just, I didn’t know,” she said emotionally.
Seattle restaurant closures will rise by five to eight percent this year due to the increased labor costs, the Washington Hospitality Association predicted.
“It’s just not sustainable,” association president and CEO Anthony Anton told the Seattle Times.
Read the full article here