The owner of a popular waffle shop in West Seattle said she had no choice but to shut down her business after the city’s new minimum wage law went into effect on New Year’s Day — hiking hourly pay to $20.76.
Bebop Waffle Shop, which was founded by a former New York City resident more than a decade ago, closed its doors for good on Monday.
“I’ve cried every day,” Corina Luckenbach, the waffle shop owner, told Fox 13 TV.
Luckenbach, who founded Bebop more than 10 years ago after relocating from New York to the Emerald City, said that her business had already been suffering from high inflation which caused the price of food to spike.
The waffle shop has also been hamstrung by lower foot traffic in the city — a result of many people working from home.
The minimum wage increase was the last straw, she said.
“This is financially just not going to make sense anymore. Because, just for me, the increase would cost me $32,000 more a year,” Luckenbach told Fox 13 TV.
Luckenbach, who named the cafe after her late dachshund, said that while in theory she supports workers earning a higher minimum wage, in practice she has been unable to keep up with the change.
Previously, large employers in Seattle whose payroll numbered more than 500 workers were required to pay a minimum wage of $18.69 per hour.
Small employers with 500 or fewer workers had to pay $18.69 per hour if the company did not contribute at least $2.19 per hour toward medical benefits or if the employee did not earn sufficient tips to meet a combined minimum compensation of $20.28.
If the minimum compensation threshold was met through tips or if the employer contributed at least $2.19 per hour toward medical benefits, the minimum wage for small businesses was $17.25 per hour.
The new $20.76 per hour law — which is $4 higher than Washington State’s minimum wage requirement — applies to large and small businesses. It also eliminates tip or benefit credits.
Luckenbach, who is gay, said “the hardest thing” about shutting down her business is that it “takes away a safe space for 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, wiping away tears.
The Post has sought comment from Luckenbach.
New minimum wage laws have either gone into effect or will go into effect in twenty-one states and 48 cities and counties sometime during the new year.
The Economic Policy Institute, a think tank that studies the effect of minimum wage, issued a report which estimated that 9.2 million workers will see their wages increase by a total of $5.7 billion.
The federal minimum wage of $7.25 has not increased in 15 years.
