The coffee doesnโt come first at Seattleโs General Porpoise, but itโs hardly an afterthought. The five-month-old doughnut-centric shop from much-laureled Seattle chef Renee Erickson is also a bustling multiroaster cafe.
General Porpoise is part of a trio of neighboring projects spanning oneย block in Seattleโs Capitol Hill neighborhood. In order to break up the oversize space, Erickson and her Sea Creatures business partners hatched three concepts: steakhouse Bateau (not your grandpaโs wood-paneled prime-rib den; Bateau is bright, airy, and decidedly Francophile); French-Atlantic-hued Bar Melusine, andโinspired by her experience eating one of Justin Gellatlyโs beloved doughnuts at St. John in LondonโGeneral Porpoise.
Itโs a given that if you serve doughnuts, youโre going to pair themย with coffee. And, why the hell not, champagne. At General Porpoise, brut, dโAsti, and sparkling rosรฉ are sold by the glass or bottle, with customers mostly indulging on the weekends.
General Manager Jeff Butler came to General Porpoise from Milstead &ย Co., one of Seattleโs first multiroaster cafes. Heโs built a simple menu centered on โcoffee fast, coffee slowโ offerings. Batch brew is always available for fast service, or slow via Modbar. Splitting the drink menu into speeds has become an icebreaker: Butler estimates that customers inquire about the fast/slow menu split about 20 times a day.
General Porpoise’sย roaster list may change, but current offerings are from four: Portlandโs Heart Roasters and Dapper & Wise Roasters; Californiaโs De La Paz; and Brooklynโs Tobyโs Estate. Youโll find no Seattle roasters on the roster, which Butler says was determined by cupping blind. โWe pulled in tons of stuff over the summer to taste; we did a blind cupping, and none of the names really mattered to [the owners],โ Butler says. โThey picked their favorites, so thatโs what we opened the doors with.โ
Pastry chef Clare Gordon landed at General Porpoise by way ofย Ava Geneโs in Portland, the Italian restaurant owned by Stumptown founder Duane Sorenson, and, most recently, Seattleโs Mamnoon. Gordon prepares the filled-and-sugared style of doughnuts using eggs from Ericksonโs Whidbey Island farm and pipes them with lemon curd, chocolate marshmallow, and seasonal fruit jams. Theyโre a departure from other Seattle doughnut offerings and consistently drum up nostalgia from well-traveled patrons.
โThere are tons of people whoย come in and have these recollections of doughnuts theyโve had in some other placeโIran, Peru, Italy, Germany,โ Butler says. โThey all have different names or fillings, but thereโs something thatโs reminiscent.โ
General Porpoise is built on an uncommon cafe business model, and is an experiment into largely uncharted territory: The shop tacks on 10 percent gratuity to all sales and, matching staff at all of Ericksonโs businesses, baristas are paid a flat $15 per hour. Theyย also qualify for health care and retirement benefits.
The practice of adding a flat percentage gratuity to checks is being implemented at an increasing number of Seattle restaurants, and Erickson was an early adopter. โRenee wanted to make it work in a cafe setting too, because if it didnโt, it meant there was something flawed about the idea in and of itself,โ Butler says.
Seattle passed a $15 wage law in 2015; when enforced, it will make the cityโs minimum wage more than twice the current federal level. Seattle businesses with fewer than 500 employees still have a few years until they’re legally required to hitย $15, but in order to remain competitive and/or close the wage gap in an increasingly expensive city experiencing an affordable-housing crisis, some restaurants like Ericksonโs are ahead of the curve.
General Porpoise opened with a higher rate, adding 20 percent gratuity to sales to match the tip rate at other Sea Creatures restaurants. But after running with it for the first week, โit felt like too much to me,” Butler says. “Ten percent fit the cafe. Thereโs no cash jar or things to sign. The cleanliness of the customer transaction benefits both of us and is faster for everybody.โ
But can a barista earn a competitive wage with a flat service charge but no tips? โEvery cafe I’ve worked at is different, so it’s difficult to compare tips with certainty,โ Butler says. He saysย that staff may earn slightly less than baristas at a busy cafe, โbut the benefit is that all earned income is shown on check stubs, making getting loans, etc. easier. Add to that health insurance and 401k after a few months of employment as well, making the working experience feel more like a career than a job.โ Butler notes that in Seattle, โpaper stabilityโ also helps with securing rent in a competitive and overpriced housing market.
Now several months in, Butler is full of praise for theย flat tipping model. โWeโre part of a restaurant group, so thereโs absolutely a restaurant-service mentality overarching this whole service model. Our 10 percent gratuity is split with pastry chef Clare Gordon and her team, the same as the servers and chefs [do] at all of the other restaurants,โ Butler says. โThe equality between front of house and back of house is what’s important. We’re all one team working together for a common goal of making the best doughnuts and coffee we can, and served with a little warmth and kindness, so that our customers truly enjoy their experience. Happy, well-cared-for employees feel vested in that ideal.โ
Sara Billups (@hellobillups)ย is a freelance journalist based in Seattle.ย Read more Sara Billups on Sprudge.