Where Did I82

Go Wrong?

Act Now to Protect Local Jobs and Save Independent Restaurants – Before It’s Too Late

44% of DC’s full-service

casual restaurants

expect to close this year.

We can save them.

When We Know Better, We Must Do Better.

In 2022, DC voters passed Initiative 82 with the goal of supporting restaurant workers. The results have done the exact opposite. Workers are earning less, neighborhood restaurants are shuttering, and the cost of dining out has skyrocketed.

Initiative 82 Was Well Intended. But It’s Outcomes that Matter.
Good policy requires honest assessment. A record number of local independent restaurants closed last year, and more closures are announced every day. 44% of DC’s neighborhood restaurants said they are likely to close this year. DC restaurants and bars have lost over 1,700 jobs since Initiative 82 began in May 2023.

DC Deserves Better. End the I82 Experiment Now.
When voters passed Initiative 82, the District became the first place in the country in more than 20 years to eliminate tip credit – and now we know why. That’s why we are calling on the DC Council to immediately repeal Initiative 82.

Doing so would create a vital lifeline that will save jobs, wages, and restaurants. Initiative 82 didn’t go to plan. Now it’s time to fix it.

Take
Action Now!

Take 30 seconds to let the DC Council know that Initiative 82 should be repealed immediately.

Contact the DC Council

“I would say to anybody who thinks that Initiative 82 is helping workers that they don't understand how restaurants really operate.”

— Dylan | Bartender & Shift Leader
“Before [Initiative 82] was passed, I would make 22-25% on average per check. Now it's around 18-19%, which definitely decreases my take home money.”

— Yana | Server, Bartender & Part-Time Manager
“We're [trying] to pivot to actually stay open, because if our projections are right, we would be closed by the end of the year.”
— Chef Pinkey | Co-Owner, Flavorture
“If you're a proponent of [Initiative] 82, I'd like you to come to The Pug and you tell me which one of my bartenders I should fire so that I can stay open, because the only way that the pug stays open is if I fire a couple guys and I go back behind the bar there myself.”
— Tony Tomelden | Owner, The Pug
“It's not that I changed my business model with [Initiative] 82. It's like I changed my reality. We're hiring less and people are doing more within their positions. You know, [Initiative] 82, to me, is an example of how the people that pushed it forward didn't really understand how restaurants work.”
— Chef Rock Harper | Owner of Hill Prince and Queen Mother's Kitchen
“[R]estaurant operators like myself are hiring less people in front of the house and it's diminishing the whole value of customer service—because we have to be able to afford people to work. So [Initiative 82] creates less jobs and that shouldn't be the goal. Never.”
— Chef Jeff Miskiri | Owner, Creole on 14th and Miss Toya's Creole House