Seattle waffle shop owner shutters business amid new $20 minimum wage: 'I’ve cried every day’

Bebop Waffle Shop closed its doors for good on Monday after a new minimum wage hike made operating costs unsustainable. 

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

"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," Luckenbach told Fox 13, later noting that she has "cried every day," about its impending closure due to multiple factors.

Luckenbach, who founded Bebop Waffle Shop more than 10 years ago after migrating from New York, specified that her business had already been struggling with both high inflation and lower foot traffic due to the increasing popularity of working from home. 

NY EXECUTIVE CHEF PROPOSES ELIMINATING THE RESTAURANT TIPPING SYSTEM ALTOGETHER

"This is financially just not going to make sense anymore. Because, just for me, the increase would cost me $32,000 more a year," she told Fox 13. 

According to The New York Post, "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."

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

NEWSOM: CRITICS SAID CA WAGE INCREASE WOULD BE A JOB-KILLER; THE OPPOSITE HAPPENED

HOCHUL SPURS BIPARTISAN OUTRAGE OVER CONGESTION PRICING

Luckenbach revealed to the media that "the hardest thing" about closing the business is that it is ultimately "taking 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 tearfully.

As 2025 began, nearly half the states in the U.S. saw minimum wage increases, which meant a pay hike for some 9.2 million workers, according to recent data.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

An analysis by The Economic Policy Institute says 21 states were set to raise their minimum wage at the first of the year, along with 48 cities and counties that are lifting their pay floors above their respective state minimums — mostly in California, Colorado and Washington.

Fox Business' Breck Dumas contributed to this report.