Inside DC Brau. Photo by Sarah Anne Hughes.

Inside DC Brau’s noisy brewery off Bladensburg Road NE, Councilmember Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) gathered with business leaders to make the case for his “Living Wage for All D.C.” bill and show the support it has already garnered.

The meeting’s location wasn’t selected to lure alcohol-loving reporters out to Fort Lincoln. (Although.) Rather, DC Brau has agreed to pay its employees at least $10.25 an hour, which is what Wells wants the city’s minimum wage raised to within two years. In addition to DC Brau, supporters of Wells’ minimum wage bill include BicycleSpace, Inspire BBQ, The Pug, Union Kitchen, Blind Dog Cafe, Toscana Cafe, Al Tiramisu, Bike Rack, Big Bear, Chocolate City Brewing, Right Proper Brewing, 3 Stars Brewing and the Law Office of C. Thomas Chartered.

Wells told the business leaders gathered that they are the “nuts and bolts of what makes D.C. happen.” He said D.C.’s minimum wage is “so far behind every year and we have to do something about it.” Wells said the Large Retailer Accountability Act, which he did not support, “really highlighted the issue” surrounding the minimum wage.

In addition to raising the minimum wage to $10.25 over two years, the mayoral hopeful’s bill would also increase D.C.’s standard deduction for personal income taxes “to provide relief to low- and moderate-income D.C. households.”

Wells said DC Brau came forward after he introduced his bill and said they would raise their minimum wage. DC Brau co-owner Brandon Skall’s remarks could not be heard by this reporter over the machinery, but in a release he called raising his employees’ wages “the right thing to do.”

Wells said that, in his travels around the city, he asked what the barrier was for “providing increased wages.” “What I learned a lot about is that either they already were or, in DC Brau’s case, they would,” Wells told DCist. “And so I wanted to bring them together to see each other, to support each other, and also to send a message to the city that it’s possible. … We can increase the minimum wage for D.C.”

When asked why people should support his minimum wage increase bill, rather than ones proposed by Councilmember David Catania (I-At Large) and other Councilmembers, Wells replied, “First the good news. I’ve got nine co-introducers on my bill. Then we have Catania’s bill and Orange’s bill, which means we’re going to get a living wage for D.C. It’s not a pride of ownership.”

Tomorrow, Council Chair Phil Mendelson will speak at a minimum wage press conference along with officials from Montgomery and Prince George’s counties. Wells said he didn’t know if he’d be able to attend.

“This is all good news because we’re all moving in the same direction,” he said of the joint agreement. “It takes away the argument that it makes D.C. less competitive because we believe that we can get Maryland and hopefully one day Virginia to join us.”

While some of the business leaders at today’s announcement have signed on to Wells’ bill, others were there just to listen.

Raymond Bell, founder of the career training program Hope Project, said he came out to find out about Wells’ bill and what the Councilmember’s ideas are on jobs and employment. Bell said he wants to speak to the other mayoral candidates about the same subjects, but hasn’t yet. He’s been in contact with Wells, who participated in Hope Project town hall, for the past two years.

“No matter who wins, I want be able to hopefully have a voice in the city as it relates to job training,” Bell said, adding that he wants to hear more from Wells. “I want to pull more specifics from him and everyone else.”