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Rantz: Activists cost themselves jobs at Seattle coffee shop after trying to hold owner hostage

Sep 19, 2024, 5:55 PM

Photo: Cherry Street Coffee House....

Cherry Street Coffee House. (Photo courtesy of 成人X站 7)

(Photo courtesy of 成人X站 7)

Progressive activists, alongside Cherry Street Coffee employees, staged a walkout on Capitol Hill in Seattle. Why? Because the business owner had the audacity to explain to the city council that the upcoming minimum wage hike is unsustainable. Thanks to their activism, the store is now permanently closed and they鈥檙e out of jobs. It鈥檚 what they deserve.

Seattle鈥檚 next minimum wage hike kicks in on January 1, 2025, and it鈥檚 going to hurt. The new phase eliminates the tip credit that bars, restaurants and cafes rely on. That credit currently lets businesses deduct $2.72 an hour if employees make at least that much in tips. But soon, that lifeline will be gone. Experts are already warning the food and beverage industry will take a hit 鈥 expect more Seattle businesses to shut down because they can鈥檛 handle the added expenses.

Ali Ghambari, owner of Cherry Street Coffee, tried to sound the alarm at a recent Seattle City Council meeting, pleading for relief. His business couldn鈥檛 absorb the blow. But his employees, showing just how little they understand about running a business, objected. They teamed up with socialist agitators, led by none other than former Seattle City Council member Kshama Sawant, and organized a walkout. They thought they could hold him hostage. The result? The store is shuttered and they鈥檙e jobless. Great work, team!

More from Jason Rantz: Baristas hold coffee shop hostage, business man warned not to share economic reality

Seattle protesters killed their own barista jobs at Cherry Street Coffee

Due to a staffing shortage, Ghambari temporarily closed the Capitol Hill location, though he managed to keep his three other Seattle cafes open. But Capitol Hill, home to some of the city鈥檚 most stubborn and reactionary extremist activists, was never going to let him operate there again. Not after he had the nerve to reasonably express his concerns about the minimum wage hike impacting his business. That鈥檚 an unforgivable sin in Capitol Hill.

Ghambari told the left-wing the shop won鈥檛 reopen as he initially intended. Now, he鈥檚 looking for a tenant to take over the lease. And something tells me that the low-skilled baristas who thought they could run his business better than he could aren鈥檛 lining up to take over. Funny how that works.

Seattle鈥檚 activists seem to think they鈥檙e entitled to dictate how Ghambari should run his business. It doesn鈥檛 matter that he poured his blood, sweat and tears into building it, taking all the financial risks, expanding his local shops, and hiring the very Progressive brats who ended up sinking it.

These baristas, in their selfish delusion, demanded Ghambari ignore the very real financial pressures that small business owners like him face in Seattle. Emboldened by the city鈥檚 far-left voters and politicians, who will support any protest as long as it comes from the Left, these workers pushed too far. Now, they鈥檝e paid the price with their jobs. Poetic justice.

More from Jason Rantz: Panic as Seattle restaurants may not survive massive minimum wage shift

This shouldn’t be celebrated as a progressive win

It鈥檚 unclear whether Ghambari fired any of the employees at that location or (foolishly) offered them hours at his other cafes. Either way, they鈥檝e gone from consistent hours at one coffee shop to inconsistent hours elsewhere or no job at all. Brilliant move, right?

Activists will probably see Ghambari鈥檚 closure as a win. He wasn鈥檛 progressive enough for their little echo chamber, so naturally, he doesn鈥檛 belong. The irony, of course, is that they鈥檙e celebrating the shutdown of a minority-owned business they鈥檇 typically pretend to champion. But facts don鈥檛 matter when you鈥檙e on a crusade. Shutting down a small coffee shop because the owner expressed legitimate concerns about wages isn鈥檛 a victory 鈥 it鈥檚 a pathetic self-own that ended up hurting everyone, from the staff to the community they claim to care about.

If the Seattle City Council doesn鈥檛 fix this disastrous minimum wage legislation by the end of the year, they鈥檒l be sealing the fate of countless other businesses and employees. Those who just want to work and grow will be the ones paying the price for the selfish demands of these so-called “activists.”

Ghambari鈥檚 baristas were on a power trip, pretending they were fighting for a living wage. But instead, they pushed their boss closer to bankruptcy. Now, they鈥檙e the ones without a paycheck. Well done!

More from Jason Rantz:听After crime crisis cost him his insurance, business owner vows to stop paying taxes in protest

Listen to The Jason Rantz Show on weekday afternoons from 3-7 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the聽podcast here. Follow Jason on聽,听听补苍诲听.

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Rantz: Activists cost themselves jobs at Seattle coffee shop after trying to hold owner hostage