Seattle, WA
Seattle waffle shop owner shuts down business over new $20-plus minimum wage law: ‘I’ve cried every day’
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.
Seattle, WA
FOLLOWUP: Sound Transit Board finalizes $400+ million spending installment for West Seattle light rail
Two weeks ago, we reported on the Sound Transit Board‘s System Expansion Committee recommending approval of actions to allot $406 million toward West Seattle light rail – the first big commitment after the ST3 plan revision that cemented ST commitment to WS. At this afternoon’s meeting of the full board, the actions all got final approval, as did a much-smaller installment of spending on Ballard light-rail planning.
(Here’s the full slide deck as presented at the committee meeting, also including the current WS light-rail cost estimate of around $5 billion.)
On the horizon, according to the most-recent ST email update, is work to advance the plan for the new cross-Duwamish River light-rail bridge, shown in this rendering:
(Sound Transit rendering)
That work on the south end of Harbor Island (in a parking lot at 1001 Klickitat, according to city docs) will see crews drill a test bridge shaft approximately 10 feet wide and 250 feet deep to better understand ground conditions,” ST says, to obtain “key information needed to finalize the bridge design.”
SEATTLE — Seattle police are investigating a shooting that left a 17-year-old boy injured early Thursday morning in the High Point neighborhood.
At about 12:48 a.m., dispatchers received multiple reports of rapid gunfire near Sylvan Way Southwest and Southwest Morgan Street.
Officers arrived and found a 17-year-old boy suffering from a gunshot wound to the hip area. Medics transported the teen to Harborview Medical Center in serious but stable condition.
Before officers located the victim, they found a car that had crashed and become disabled near Sylvan Way Southwest and Delridge Way Southwest. Police said multiple suspects were seen running from the vehicle through a nearby Home Depot parking lot.
Officers cordoned off the area and searched for the suspects with assistance from the K-9 Unit, but were unable to locate them. Police recovered the vehicle and impounded it for processing.
During the incident, gunfire struck at least three vehicles and two buildings. No other injuries were reported.
Officers processed multiple nearby scenes and recovered evidence before clearing the area. Detectives with the Gun Violence Reduction Unit will lead the investigation.
Seattle, WA
Council eyes street barricades in fight against violence, sex trafficking in north Seattle
SEATTLE — The Seattle City Council is expected to vote next week on a plan that would give the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) the authority to close off street access for public safety reasons.
The proposal comes after months of outcry from residents in north Seattle who say sex traffickers and sex buyers are looping through the streets surrounding Aurora Avenue North.
The street-closure proposal passed the council’s Public Safety Committee on Tuesday and is expected to be voted on by the full council next week.
“I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say the crime has gotten much worse, much more violent, and much more predator,” said District 5 councilmember Debora Juarez. “I think that we do have the authority to shut down a street for bullets flying and endangering the lives of those who live there.”
Frustrated neighbors have installed their own homemade barricades after a spate of gun violence between sex traffickers in May.
RELATED | SDOT removes street barricades near Aurora Ave; neighbors doubtful of temporary measures
Councilmember Bob Kettle says street closures will help tamp down sex buying in certain areas, but he emphasizes it must be accompanied by an increase in outreach and enforcement.
“We have to have a sustained effort,” Kettle told KOMO News. “My concern is for every action, there’s a reaction. We need to take this flex and then really attack it … because if we do just a bit and our attention wanders, we could have this conversation three months from now and we’re talking about the same thing.”
A 15-year-old boy was shot near 95th Street and Aurora Avenue North around 10:45 p.m. last night. The teen initially claimed he had been shot while walking down the street, but investigators now say he was shot by a passenger in his car.
RELATED | Seattle police say ‘drive-by’ on Aurora Ave. was actually passenger shooting teen driver
Kettle credited the city’s Real Time Crime Center cameras with helping investigators quickly piece together the events of the shooting.
“Just as important to finding out what happened, the cameras help police determine what did not happen,” Kettle said.
According to Seattle police data, reports of shootings and shots fired in the north precinct area are at their lowest levels since 2021.
Through the end of May, there were 48 total reports of shootings or shots fired, with one fatal shooting and seven nonfatal injury shootings.
That’s down from 63 total reports of shootings and shots fired – one fatal and seven injuries – in 2025; and 64 shootings or shots fired reports – one fatal and 17 injuries – in 2024.
At Tuesday’s committee meeting, councilmembers pointed out residents are calling for a new police precinct to be built on Aurora Avenue.
Ten years ago, a new North Precinct building was slated to be built at 130th Avenue and Aurora Avenue North to replace the existing precinct building, which was decades old and did not have enough space for the department’s needs.
Led by former councilmember Kshama Sawant, the “Block the Bunker” movement successfully got the North Precinct replacement project killed in city council.
Kettle said the city’s current financial issues make it essentially impossible to bring back a project similar to the one the previous council defeated.
“We have to connect the dots back,” Kettle said. “If we want to know why we are where we are today, we have to look at decisions made over the last two councils.”
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