Yeah what happens in prosperous placed like Seattle, is that the restaurant owners simply pass the labor rate increases to the customers via increased prices. If restaurant goers can handle the 5% - 10% increases then fine. But if they can't, the restaurants go out of business.
I expect you will not find a report from the UW about how rising commercial rents are hurting Seattle's economy.
In our area, exorbitant rents are also a big reason why restaurants here shut down.
News 
Market Data 
Discover 
