by More than a year into their experiment, the city — where food service, including a diverse collection of independent restaurants, is the third-largest sector of the local economy — is still divided. Trupti Patel, a waitress, said she received death threats for openly supporting ending the tipped minimum wage, and that she is still harassed. Another server who voted in favor of the change, Britt Lucas, said that even today she doesn’t talk to some people because they disagree on the issue.
It’s still unclear exactly how the restaurant business will fare as the city slowly raises the tipped wage to match the standard minimum wage in 2027. But after interviewing more than 25 owners, chefs, workers and diners, we can offer some conclusions about how the policy, known as Initiative 82, is working so far:
The food scene is not imploding.
In fact, the number of restaurants in Washington has increased: to 3,472 last year, from 3,307 in 2022, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. And new ones continue to open; According to Yelp, there were 283 vacancies in 2023, up from 254 the year before.
But many owners still fear that as the tipped wage increases, the added expense will drive them out of business. Rick Allison, who runs several restaurants in the District, Virginia and Maryland, said labor costs at his King Street Oyster Bar in Washington have increased 12 percent from a year ago. He blames the initiative. In addition to rising rents and inflation, the impending wage increases are unsustainable, he said.
“People are going to close,” he said, adding, “My next restaurant is in Virginia.”
Chris Kennedy, co-owner of Reliable Tavern, sees current challenges as short-term growing pains. “It will be a difficult few years in DC, but we will find a way.”
