Changing our message and creating space to change the model
If you saw me on TV a lot in the first part of this year, you heard me giving a very different kind of message about the state of our industry than I had in the past. Many of you have contacted me — some appreciated the new direction and others were frustrated.
At the end of the day, we work for you, so it’s important we’re transparent about the message we are trying to deliver.
In the past when we’ve seen big increases in minimum wage, you’ve seen us deliver a very direct message in emotional if not angry terms. We were trying to both reflect the industry’s real frustration due to this policy decision and because we were trying to influence a legislature that cared about and wanted to help small businesses and hear real feedback.
That is no longer where we are today. And to be frank, that message ultimately wasn’t effective. We didn’t suddenly change the opinions of elected officials in Washington about tips and minimum wage. We’ve seen a growing lack of empathy toward the industry in the past few years. Whether it’s because we have been beating the same drum for so long we have become white noise, or it’s because the modern legislator just doesn’t care. This message is not altering Washington’s approach. That’s why we are intentionally trying to speak very bluntly about our new reality in a way that consumers and operators can understand without the heated emotion of prior messages that caused attention to turn away. It’s time to make clear the
consequences of our government’s actions AND have them hear us.
We all know the situation we are in. Our costs continue to rise. Our customers pushed back hard on price increases in 2024, leading many to believe that price elasticity has reached its limits. And we’ve made all the easy, obvious changes already — most businesses have fewer employees, are open fewer hours and serve more limited menus.
Washington state was the only state in the country that moved further left after November’s election. Despite all our efforts, we’ve been ineffective in convincing the public about the negative effects of many recent political decisions on our industry. We do not have a political climate in Puget Sound that is interested in the plight of the small businessperson. This is just a cold, hard fact.
While that’s all true, it’s not moving the people to vote or think differently.
Our new messaging is intended to do three things. First, to be transparent with the public that they are going to see a lot of changes in our industry. We need to change. Washington state successfully broke the restaurant business model, and we are no longer sustainable. When they visit your establishment, hopefully they’ve heard from us that the industry needs to change, and they are more accepting and show more grace about the changes we’re making.
Second, to send the message “we aren’t doing great” to those who think the contrary. We need time to make changes and adjust the model before additional burdens are thrown on our shoulders.
And finally, to make people aware that if we can’t fix this, there will be fewer businesses, fewer taxes collected and fewer opportunities to have great hospitality experiences in Washington.
I feel like I’m the bearer of bad news, but we need the public and elected officials to understand this. We need them to understand our model is not working. The additional costs and burdens are now beyond sustainable.
We’re trying a different approach. Our approach will be very fact-based. Hopefully people will start to hear and care about your business—the small business—and understand that we must adapt or die.
This spring I’ll travel to 20 cities across the state getting industry feedback on this new messaging and other key issues facing us in the next 10 years. Your territory manager will email you to tell you when I’ll be near you. I’m looking forward to talking with all of you.
And always it's an honor to serve you,
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