---
title: "Seattle Minimum Wage Law: Franchise Discrimination Case"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/d40e9618-2da1-4658-8c0e-71944ad7088c
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/1851-franchising-weekly-rewind-1284
category: "Franchise Industry"
industry: "Franchise Industry"
topics: ["Regulation & legal"]
published: 2015-03-13T16:11:00.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T22:34:29.653Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/d5712fd07cc258c6e97a59218ed6c2919300.jpg
---

# Seattle Minimum Wage Law: Franchise Discrimination Case

**TL;DR:** The International Franchise Association argues that Seattle's minimum-wage law discriminates against franchises. Ignite Restaurant Group is selling Romano's Macaroni Grill to Redrock Partners for $8 million.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2015-03-13. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/1851-franchising-weekly-rewind-1284).*

## Story

**Seattle’s Minimum Wage Law Heads to Court** This past Tuesday, the International Franchise Association (IFA) told a federal judge that Seattle’s minimum-wage law discriminates against franchises. The law, which is set to take effect on April 1, requires businesses with more than 500 workers to pay employees $15 an hour by 2017 (smaller businesses have until 2021 to comply). The law classifies local franchises as a large business, although franchises are locally owned and operated.

**Macaroni Grill Sells for Second Time in Two Years** Ignite Restaurant Group announced this week that it is selling Romano’s Macaroni Grill for $8 million to Redrock Partners. This comes just two years after Ignite purchased the chain for $55 million. With this sale, the value of Macaroni Grill has decreased by $47 million. Ignite will be using the money from the deal to focus on their other chains.

**Celebrate Pi Day with Your Pie** This year, Your Pie will be commemorating the brand’s 7th annual celebration of Pi(e) Day on March 14, 2015, celebrating the mathematical equation of Pi. The down-the-line pizza company will offer a $3.14 discount on all orders. The celebration will be continued on their social channels. Customers can pick up a Pi(e) Day sticker and post photos of it using #YourPieDay on Instagram to win prizes.

**Bruegger’s Bagels is Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day** It’s the season for green bagels at Bruegger’s Bagels. The bakery will be offering green bagels to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day from Saturday, March 14,through Tuesday, March 17. The green bagels are made in the same New York style as the restaurant’s regular menu bagels.

**Hot Sauce is on Fire in the US** According to the NPD Group, a leading global information company, 56 percent of households have hot sauce in their kitchens. Sriracha, an Asian hot sauce, is stocked in 9 percent of homes headed by those under 35 years old. This hot trend is not only in the home - it also extends to dining experiences. In the past two years, the number of cases of hot sauce shipped from foodservice distributors to restaurants has increased by double digits.

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- Franchise Industry (sector)
- International Franchise Association (company)
- Instagram (company)
- Your Pie Pizza (company)
- Seattle (location)
- restaurant sale (topic)
- minimum wage law (topic)
- franchise discrimination (topic)

---
Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/1851-franchising-weekly-rewind-1284). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/d40e9618-2da1-4658-8c0e-71944ad7088c).