‘Paychecks just gone’: Jake and Spike question Seattle’s business costs as Homegrown prepares to close

Homegrown’s impending closure prompted KIRO hosts Jake Skorheim and Spike O’Neill to question how restaurant owners can survive rising labor and food costs while customers tighten their spending. Jake focused on what happens to workers when a business can no longer afford to operate.

“Paychecks just gone,” Jake said on “The Jake and Spike Show” on KIRO Newsradio.

Spike agreed that restaurant owners face pressure from multiple directions, arguing that the problem extends beyond wages to ingredients, operating expenses, and customers’ ability to afford meals out.

Homegrown’s remaining downtown Seattle and Mercer Island shops are preparing to close after years of financial challenges. The company previously closed 10 locations in 2024. That earlier round of closures resulted in 158 layoffs.

An idealistic sandwich shop faces hard economics

Jake described Homegrown’s emphasis on organic ingredients and sustainable materials as an effort to distinguish itself in a competitive restaurant market.

Spike welcomed that approach, explaining that he loves sandwiches but appreciates a business that’s thoughtful about its ingredients.

Still, both hosts questioned how that model could remain financially viable as costs increased.

Jake described the company’s difficulties as a combination of expenses, labor disputes and a substantial tax obligation. He questioned how the tax bill had accumulated without claiming to know the answer.

“I don’t know if this is mismanagement,” Jake said.

The Washington Department of Revenue revoked Homegrown’s business license in late 2025 over unpaid taxes and penalties totaling more than $472,000. The two remaining shops temporarily closed and reopened about two weeks later.

Jake questions the consequences of higher labor costs

Jake discussed workers’ union organizing, a lengthy strike and a subsequent contract that included raises and a paid 30-minute break. His broader concern was whether businesses operating on thin margins could absorb additional costs without reducing jobs or closing.

Jake and Spike also debated how paid breaks worked during their own early jobs. Neither settled the current legal requirements during the segment.

Jake argued that the benefits of higher wages disappear when a workplace shuts down. His remarks treated Homegrown as already closed, although the outside reporting described the remaining shops’ closure as upcoming.

“They’re not making any sandwiches anymore,” Jake said.

Spike points to food prices and tighter household budgets

Spike cautioned against treating labor as the only challenge facing restaurants.

“Well, yeah, and to be fair to the argument, labor costs are a huge part of any business,” Spike said.

He pointed to ingredient prices and household budgets as additional pressures. When families need to cut expenses, he argued, dining out is often among the first things they reduce.

“So, I mean, restaurant owners got to come in from every side here, with cost of labor, with food costs, with customers spending less,” Spike said.

He described a difficult environment in which restaurants struggle to earn enough to stay open, even when customers appreciate what they offer.

Small savings become essential

Jake shared messages from a restaurant-owner friend who described narrow margins and the need to find savings wherever possible.

One example involved buying lettuce directly from Costco rather than through a supplier. Jake explained that shopping personally could substantially reduce costs.

The point, he argued, was that owners must constantly examine expenses rather than assume sales alone will keep the business afloat.

“It’s very difficult for these business owners who are barely scraping by to make any money at these things,” Jake said. “And then you have like 158 people at this sandwich shop that are not out of business.”

Spike agreed that the work is difficult, particularly in Seattle.

“But it’s, it’s tough to run a restaurant these days in the City of Seattle,” Spike said. “Doesn’t make it any easier on you.”

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to “The Jake and Spike Show” weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio 97.3