Tipping at Sea Wolf
Tipping at Sea Wolf is optional. This page is meant to provide some context on how tipping at Sea Wolf works and why we switched our practice in late 2025. If you would like to share more thoughts or concerns with us on the information presented here, you can reach us at info@seawolfbakers.com.
The Change
Prior to the staff team unionizing (contract ratification in September 2025), Sea Wolf operated as a tip-free business. In 2016, when Sea Wolf was a young business, we chose to eschew tipping in favor of higher-than-average wages and benefits. Tipping has a complex history and, as industry workers ourselves, we (Kit and Jesse) saw firsthand how it can be abused. However, in union negotiations it became clear that, in a city as expensive as Seattle, additional take-home pay through tipping was one of the top priorities for our staff team. It is difficult to argue that potential income should be bypassed simply because of our political or philosophical position as owners, so we decided in negotiations to concede on this aspect of the contract.
Working conditions at Sea Wolf
Though Sea Wolf is now a tipping business, we still offer a higher starting wage than Seattle minimum wage; as of Sep 2025, our starting wage is $23.09 per hour, over two dollars per hour more than minimum wage. We also continue to provide benefits including: paid time off, health and dental insurance, and matching retirement contributions. No one on our staff team saw a decrease in their regular hourly wage when we added tips.
In 2025, the average hourly wage (not including tips) for a Sea Wolf staff member with at least 6 months of tenure (excludes managers and leadership) was $26.52. Average overall tenure for the staff team (excludes managers and leadership) in 2025 was 1.8 years. We believe our team is healthy and strong and provides excellent service. We welcome you to tip or not based on your budget, conscience, and preference.
WHO GETS TIPS
Tips at Sea Wolf are a collective benefit and go directly to workers. They are pooled on a weekly basis and distributed equally across all staff team members. Leadership team members (salaried employees) do not share in the tip pool at all. Department managers - who are responsible for day to day operations, work on the floor beside their teams, and are paid hourly - share in the tip pool at a lower ratio (75% the rate of regular staff).
Tipping FAQ
Now that you are accepting tips, will your prices go down?
Retaining the higher hourly wages and benefits was a key focus of the union in negotiations, so our operational costs have not decreased with the inclusion of tipping. For that reason, our prices will remain the same.
How are tips being distributed?
Tips are pooled on a weekly basis and distributed equally across all staff team members, from delivery drivers to bakers to baristas. Department managers - who are responsible for day to day operations, work on the floor beside their teams, and are paid hourly - share in the tip pool at a lower ratio (75% the rate of regular staff). Leadership team members (salaried employees) do not share in the tip pool at all.
What if I don’t want to tip?
That is just fine. We still pay our staff well and provide benefits and you are supporting us and our staff simply through making a purchase. If you want to show thanks or solidarity with our staff you can tip, but we feel strongly that our bakery should provide a guilt-free experience at our point of sale.
Why didn’t you allow tipping in the first place?
For the last 10 years we have tried to be an example of a business that could thrive and support our staff without relying on tips - which is an institution with a history of perpetuating the abuse of service workers. We have paid our staff close to what they could earn with tips, provided benefits, professional growth opportunities, and operated a professional business where they were treated with dignity and respect. Tips are largely used by businesses to pay their employees poorly and we felt that it was our sole responsibility to provide for our team, not our customers.