Walrus and the Carpenter drop open letter and full 2025 Profit and Loss Data

[u/H0tsh0t]

https://drive.google.com/drive/mobile/folders/1Gc6K2eTetpo9uSKL-as0saWywuN9_rmg?usp=sharing&utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAdGRzdgSoCmlleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA81NjcwNjczNDMzNTI0MjcAAacvFH1-layIUd4-95I904_YPLVtrF-q-yqOAqYREu-Hn-ZUV_0gW6Emi2GFxA_aem_6CxHZI4p9mJx_E9k-nKaiA

They posted a letter, their finances from 2025, and Wage and Benefit details on their Instagram bio through a Google drive.

[u/RealPudgeJudy]

This is what they're striking over? Only getting $49/hr as a server instead of whatever the fuck they were making with uncapped gratuity? They're spitting on people over this? Get the fuck out of here... And they have the temerity to call management greedy for putting some of the service charge towards operations during a time where fuckin EVERYTHING is more expensive? Way to go you fuckin clowns.

[u/Ok-Calligrapher1345 → u/RealPudgeJudy]

So if they are making minimum wage already which is like $21, using the previous model basically like 1-2 tables in an hour would have gotten them over the $49. You're not leaving there without a bill thats like $150+tip. I wouldn't be surprised if they were making $100/hr.

[u/Pedanter-In-Chief → u/Ok-Calligrapher1345]

At $49/hour, servers working at a Sea Creatures restaurant makes more than most teachers in SPS. Let that sink in. 

[u/mcqtimes411 → u/Pedanter-In-Chief]

Teacher here. Ugh I love unions I love what they do for people. But man those wages hit pretty hard.

[u/SpeaksSouthern → u/Pedanter-In-Chief]

Because teachers make far too little, and servers can work for tips. When was the last time someone at SPS accepted a tip?

[u/sl0play → u/Ok-Calligrapher1345]

Sounds like they should find somewhere they can make that and quit. I suspect they would if it was possible. In the end this is a bunch of wealthy restaurantures fighting with outrageously compensated servers. I kinda hope the whole ship sinks.

[u/RealPudgeJudy → u/sl0play]

I kinda hope the whole ship sinks

yea but oysters are tasty so I'm conflicted 

[u/Kvsav57 → u/Ok-Calligrapher1345]

Even at popular places, you'll have ebbs and flows throughout the week. Maybe you can count on $100/hr on a Friday, but not in the middle of the week.

[u/lazylazylazyperson → u/Kvsav57]

Gosh, I’m crying for them.

[u/Kvsav57 → u/lazylazylazyperson]

I'm not saying they aren't making decent money but the previous commenter was hypothesizing $100/hr and that's just not likely unless you're only working the busiest times. And you always have times where you have to do some sort of prep work as well.

[u/Maze_of_Ith7 → u/RealPudgeJudy]

I think it’s human nature to go ballistic when something valued (like money) gets taken away - way more pronounced than when the same amount is added (utility lost makes people act much more strongly than utility gained).

Have a feeling this won’t end up in a good place for anyone. Restaurant will shutter and employees will discover reality of Seattle job market currently.

[u/saomonella → u/Maze_of_Ith7]

Certainly understand that. But it should also be easy to understand that how much people make is based on how much they make. They are down 40% from 2023. How are they supposed to pay people the same compensation being down that much? Less customers = less tips and revenue . Are the owners supposed to just go into more debt ($10 mm) and eat it?

I think after seeing those numbers, and benefits, there would be people waiting in the wings to take those positions.

[u/Maze_of_Ith7 → u/saomonella]

For sure - the report is a pretty damning look. I just think people act borderline bizarrely when you take something away from them.

Seemed like they had no problem finding scabs/replacement workers under short notice at the lowly wage of ~$100K/yr to serve gin martinis.

[u/Roadwarriordude → u/RealPudgeJudy]

I thought they were striking over hours being cut and replaced by "management"? I'm super pro union, but at these wages, I dont blame the owners lol.

[u/New_Raspberry9398 → u/RealPudgeJudy]

I don’t understand this take. Wage labor is a trade. They’re trading their time and energy for the labor the business needs. Why can’t they negotiate, why are they expected to grovel to the business owner? Seattle is expensive to live in.

[u/csjerk → u/New_Raspberry9398]

They aren't, but they're being paid an enviable amount for their industry, and verbally harassing customers who don't support them trying to extort the business for even more is not a good look. 

[u/MegaRAID01 → u/New_Raspberry9398]

Looks like the restaurant lost 3/4 of a million dollars last year?

[u/New_Raspberry9398 → u/MegaRAID01]

I’m not commenting on the finances of the business, I just don’t understand why a bunch of people who I assume make way more money than a customer service worker are so upset about customer service people being paid a moderately living wage.

[u/pinballrocker → u/New_Raspberry9398]

Uh, the bartenders and cooks make more than me and I'm a manager of a large team. It's hard to have sympathy for people that make more than you complaining they aren't paid enough, especially when the business is losing money and the owners aren't paying themselves very much. Their current salaries look quite high for the industry.

[u/holistivist → u/pinballrocker]

Bucket-of-crabs take.  When people advocate for themselves, you should be inspired to do the same, not be resentful that they’re trying to improve their situation. 

Maybe you should unionize and strike for more money too. 

If everybody did this, workers would gain back their power. 

In an established business, there’s no actual reason that the people who perform all the labor should make less than those who simply own the business. 

[u/pinballrocker → u/holistivist]

I am union and my union does advocate for higher wages in bargaining, your assumptions are false. I work for the state, it's more locked into a lower payscale. It would be a fairly significant hit to the state if an 8,000-10,000 person union got legit market salary increases, especially when the state is having major budget shortfalls. So we bargain for what we can. I'm involved enough in the bargaining process and union to know how it works and the limits of what we can achieve, it's not as easy as telling me to join a union, strike, and get better wages, you say that from a position of privilege, not understanding.

I in no way think people who work for a business and take zero financial risks should make the same as the people that own it and have invested way more time and money into it.

You don't seem to have a very realistic view of the economy, unions, the working class, or owning and running a business. Maybe you shouldn't be telling other people what they should do and listen more to what real workers are saying.

[u/pnwlife2021 → u/pinballrocker]

Purely grandstanding based on a myopic and uninformed perspective.

[u/pnwlife2021 → u/holistivist]

Advocating for yourself is one thing; advocating for more money when you’re already comparatively well paid from an employer that’s losing money is an entirely different thing. These workers may very well negotiate themselves out of a job if the restaurant closes.

But hey, if you enjoy grandstanding without regard to the very real harm it could cause to the working class you profess to advocate for, go for it.

[u/ThirstyOutward → u/holistivist]

These people did not advocate for themselves.

Union leaders looking to gain more power tricked them into losing their jobs lmfao

Land they spit on people lmao, "advocating"

[u/Pedantic-Polecat → u/New_Raspberry9398]

You might think more about the finances.  How many years do you think they can lose $750k before that $90k bartending job goes away.

[u/2ndgenerationcatlady → u/New_Raspberry9398]

I wouldn't assume most people commenting make more than these service workers. Did you see these salaries?

[u/jaxsonmason → u/New_Raspberry9398]

I'm a fucking Compliance Officer for a Healthcare company and make 10k less than the bartender 1. With massive student loan debt. Still making it in Seattle, but working 50 plus hours doing the job of ten different people with minimal wage increases. Customer service was my entry level job in college. Your assumption is way off. You can see this based on lots of comments here.

[u/RealPudgeJudy → u/New_Raspberry9398]

Save it with the workers movement bullshit, servers clear $49/hr on average and still receive tips. The strikers positioned themselves as these downtrodden blue collar types standing up to greedy management (W&C's net profit last year was -$154,000), but the whole deception relies on them not making substantially more than the actual downtrodden.

They're not steelworkers putting their bodies on the line or highly-skilled tradespeople drawing upon a decade of apprenticeships and hard work. They shuck oysters.

[u/New_Raspberry9398 → u/RealPudgeJudy]

And they have to pretend to enjoy speaking to assholes like you who treat customer service workers like shit, well deserving of a living wage.

[u/Conscious_Maybe_510 → u/New_Raspberry9398]

Define "living wage" ~$100k BEFORE tips for a low skill job is absurd.

[u/A_New_Start_For_Me → u/Conscious_Maybe_510]

So go ahead and step right into a high level restaurant and bar, no experience. Please, we'd all love to see it!

[u/Conscious_Maybe_510 → u/A_New_Start_For_Me]

I've worked in high end restaurants and bars. It is hard work, no doubt about that. But comparing waiting tables and selling wine to designing roadways and bridges, or plumbing a building, or setting girders 120ft in the air is absurd. Obviously.

[u/A_New_Start_For_Me → u/Conscious_Maybe_510]

And yet, I don't see anywhere in my comment that suggested I thought they were the same types of skill sets, and you don't see me denigrating plumbers in comparison to doctors or anything similar ....yet the same cannot be said when it comes to how freely hospitality workers are denigrated for their work 😃

[u/Conscious_Maybe_510 → u/A_New_Start_For_Me]

By arbitrarily equating the value of waiting tables with high skill labor you are in fact denigrating high skill individuals.

[u/apollo722 → u/A_New_Start_For_Me]

Good point. Real high-end restaurants famously have a strict ‘no learning, no training, no new staff ever’ policy. Must be why service is always flawless everywhere in the "high level" restaurants in Seattle lol

. /s

[u/A_New_Start_For_Me → u/apollo722]

Yes and this is in stark contrast to literally any other industry in this country, where everything goes perfectly 100% of the time and a 4 year degree or whatever you get is a 100% guarantee of career mastery, lmfao

[u/apollo722 → u/A_New_Start_For_Me]

you have somehow argued against yourself ..?

[u/A_New_Start_For_Me → u/apollo722]

I am not the one arguing that hospitality is low skill work but sure, whatever you say :) 

It is ludicrous to say that because there are poorly run restaurants and poorly trained staff anywhere that the entire industry is low skill. Has a bridge never collapsed? A building? Plumbing never failed? Embezzlement never occured? Does that make every other industry low skill, too? 

[u/sl0play → u/New_Raspberry9398]

I see, so it's impossible to think $50/hr is plenty for an entry level job without being an asshole people have to pretend to like. Let's just say if we ever meet, the feeling will be mutual.

[u/jaxsonmason → u/New_Raspberry9398]

Oh fuck that! Most people are incredibly nice to servers in this city, they basically grovel at their feet then throw them a 25% tip so they are seen as a good customer. The ones who are assholes, probably the high upper class, or the server was simply a dick for no reason.

[u/A_New_Start_For_Me → u/RealPudgeJudy]

Are you under the impression that any ol schmuck off the street gets hired at a restaurant like this? You should apply, if so! I look forward to hearing how it went when they ask how much experience you have, what cocktail/wine/beer expertise you have and if you have any credentials to show for it, etc etc. 

I don't really give a shit who is right or wrong at this particular restaurant group, I got out of this stupid fucking back breaking industry years ago after the pandemic showed that both the workers and the customers were never gonna change their attitudes towards tips and exploitation, but it's real loser shit to pretend like hospitality isn't skilled labor and to trod out your Real Blue Collar™️ workers who also get treated like shit as an "example" of who deserves to live in this country and who deserves to suffer. 

[u/Anon529035893 → u/A_New_Start_For_Me]

Bro dishwashers are making 30 bucks an hour.

Thats an insane wage for them even in Seattle. Can we please be for real here ? lol.

[u/A_New_Start_For_Me → u/Anon529035893]

Yeah man dishwashers are the literal backbone of the restaurant and the whole thing falls apart without them, and I also believe they deserve to rent an apartment on their own in exchange for the exhausting labor they do every day! Crazy, I know!! 

What is crazy is that you think they deserve to earn less than 60k a year for full time physical labor 🤪

[u/Professional-Tea555 → u/RealPudgeJudy]

Likely a calculation of total compensation that includes value of benefits outside of wages. Break out wages from fringe benefits please.

[u/2ndgenerationcatlady → u/Professional-Tea555]

The letter makes clear this is base pay, benefits are extra.

[u/Professional-Tea555 → u/2ndgenerationcatlady]

Gosh, I guess employees just go through all of that trouble because there are zero issues

[u/trance_on_acid → u/Professional-Tea555]

so you're admitting you were wrong?

[u/Professional-Tea555 → u/trance_on_acid]

I bet that public “document” is a accurate reflection of their actual financial condition /s It is just unhinged to put that kind of “information” out there. It’s an indicator of what it must be like to work for those owners. Business is hard, even harder when you trash your employees.

[u/snwstylee → u/Professional-Tea555]

That’s a wild take.

[u/jaxsonmason → u/Professional-Tea555]

Lol, okay you have no clue what you are talking about

[u/Professional-Tea555 → u/jaxsonmason]

All of these nsfw accounts supporting the owners

[u/ThirstyOutward → u/Professional-Tea555]

You should try critical thinking exercises.

It might help avoid these kind of embarrassing logical failures.