The Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington is calling on the D.C. Council to repeal Initiative 82 and reinstate the tip wage. This isn’t about reducing wages. It’s about restoring a system that worked — for diners, workers and owners.

“[W]e will bring our policies in line with the region by restoring DC’s previous tipped minimum wage law…we will be moving to repeal I-82.”

D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser on Monday announced plans to repeal a law that gradually raises tipped workers’ minimum wage, part of what she described as a broader effort to counteract the economic impacts of the Trump administration’s federal workforce cuts by making the city more business-friendly.

One of the key reasons for the shutdown, Tomelden explained, was Initiative 82. While intended to support laborers, Tomelden said the change added pressure to already tight payrolls.

"I didn't navigate it quite well enough," he admitted. "What you have to do is you have to cut people. That's the only way to make payroll. And... there were nobody that I wanted to cut."

Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington President and CEO Shawn Townsend, Harmony Group President Matt Hetrick and The DC Restaurant Group Partner Eric Heidenberger discuss Initiative 82 and the changing landscape of DC's food and hospitality industry.

“I just couldn’t cut people. And that’s what we should have done,” Tomelden says of the minimum-wage-related pressures that ultimately forced his hand to close the restaurant on Sunday. “I thought things would change.”

Why it matters: I-82, which eliminates the tipped minimum wage, is among the most controversial laws recently passed in D.C. — and now, nearly three years into its implementation, many argue the system isn't working and needs to be reevaluated.

“We’ve already cut everywhere we can cut,” the restaurant association quoted one unidentified restaurant owner as saying. “We’ve reduced hours, eliminated positions, and streamlined our menu, but with another wage increase coming in July and fewer office workers dining out, I honestly don’t know if we’ll make it to 2026.”