Seattle waffle shop owner closes business amid new $20 minimum wage: ‘I cried every day’

The Bebop Waffle Shop closed its doors permanently Monday after a new minimum wage hike made operating costs unsustainable.

Corinna Luckenbach, owner of A West Seattle The waffle shop owner lamented that she had no choice but to close her business when the city’s new minimum wage law went into effect Jan. 1, raising her hourly wage to $20.76.

“This was my dream. To own my own café, run it the way I wanted to, and really be of service to people,” Luckenbach said. Fox 13 said, She later noted that she “cries every day” about its impending closure due to multiple factors.

Luckenbach, who founded Bebop Waffle Shop more than 10 years ago after immigrating from New York, explained that her company was already struggling with high inflation and low traffic due to the growing popularity of working from home.

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“This wouldn’t make financial sense anymore,” she told Fox 13. “Because just for me, the increase would cost me an additional $32,000 a year.”

according to New York Post“The new $20.76 per hour law — which is $4 higher than Washington state’s minimum wage — applies to businesses large and small. It also eliminates tips or benefit credits.”

Many locally owned businesses that served as gathering places for the community have been forced to close amid the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic fallout, and the Bebop Waffle Shop, named after the owner’s dog, appears to be no exception.

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Luckenbach revealed To the media The “hardest thing” about closing a business is that it ultimately “takes away a safe space for people,” he said.

“Stories like what it means for people to come and feel safe and feel welcome — I just, I didn’t know,” she said through tears.

By the beginning of 2025, nearly half of the US states have seen this happen Increase the minimum wage, This means an increase in the wages of about 9.2 million workers, according to recent data.

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An analysis by the Economic Policy Institute says 21 states are set to raise their minimum wages at the beginning of the year, along with 48 cities and counties raising their minimum wages above the minimum wage in every state. Mostly in California, Colorado and Washington.

Fox Business Channel’s Breck Dumas contributed to this report.