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 city of Seattle’s minimum wage is a whopping $4 higher than the rest of the state’s; it also applies to both small and big businesses.

“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,” Anthony Anton, president and chief executive officer of the Washington Hospitality Association, which represents restaurants across the state toldthe Seattle Times.

Part of the law that differs from that in 2024 is that while minimum wage for most employers in the city was $19.97 per hour, exceptions existed for small employers, defined as those with 500 or fewer employees.

Anton told the Seattle Times that restaurants were already squeezed by high costs and low margins. 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 example of the immediate repercussions is the tragedy of Seattle’s Bebop Waffle Shop, which had to close its doors for good on Monday after 10 years, owner 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, 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.

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.