Update: Seattle restaurateur Tom Douglas scraps ‘wage equality surcharge’

You may still notice an increase in your bill, but Seattle restaurateur Tom Douglas is doing away with a 2 percent surcharge.

“We are immediately removing the 2 percent wage equality surcharge we instituted on 4/1 so near future labor increases will be reconciled in the menu price increases as many of you have suggested you would prefer,” Douglas wrote on his blog Thursday.

Related: Jason Rantz says Tom Douglas was right before he was wrong

The increase is a result of the city’s new minimum wage ordinance that took effect on Wednesday. Douglas said his team spent months trying to figure out how to handle the wage hike and the surcharge was thought to be the most competitive method until all Seattle restaurants were on the same playing field.

The minimum wage ordinance adopted by city government gives businesses the option to phase in higher wages over several years.

Businesses with more than 500 employees nationally have three years; those providing health insurance will have four. According to Seattle’s roll-out schedule, starting Wednesday, employees working for these large companies will make at least $11 per hour. Smaller businesses will have seven years to phase in the higher wages, which will include consideration for tips and healthcare costs.

With the city’s decision, restaurants like those owned by Douglas will pay employees about 10 percent more than his contemporaries, he wrote on Tuesday.

“Just on raw talent it’s hard enough to compete with amazing Seattle restaurateurs like Ethan Stowell, Matt Dillon, Renee Erickson and Thierry Rautureau. Now I get to pay millions more in labor costs on top of it,” he wrote.

Douglas posted his update over his Tuesday entry, effectively deleting his political comments that were “unnecessarily snarky and snippy.”

He doesn’t know how other restaurants will handle the new law, but Douglas invites customers to communicate their thoughts.

“We are going to work through this challenge together,” Douglas wrote. “I truly hope you continue to value us as chefs, bartenders, cooks and waiters but also as your neighbors trying to do what’s best for our city and all of us who live here.”

MyNorthwest’s Kipp Robertson and Stephanie Klein contributed to this report.