Complaints about unpaid bills continue to dog 28 Lister Chophouse Grill and its owner Chris DesRoches.
Most publicly is the restaurant's website, 28lister.com, which appears as a black screen with the polite but pointed words: "Due to lack of payment. This website is closed. If you are Chris DesRoches please contact your webmaster."
Employees, from busboys to sommeliers and executive chefs, say they are owed money, too.
A food supplier says it will launch legal action, joining a list of at least four contractors suing DesRoches and 28 Lister Restaurants Inc. for lack of payment.
Even DesRoches' former PR handler is speaking out.
The long-delayed restaurant in the city-owned Lister building has been open a little more than a month. The high-end eatery, featuring doormen and $139 steaks, was granted a 10-year lease with the city as of spring 2013.
Along with that lease came $267,000 for leasehold improvements funded by taxpayers.
DesRoches, whose troubled financial past was documented by The Spectator in June, says he's had to let go employees for tardiness, absenteeism and theft. He says they are seeking revenge and their "15 minutes of fame," by talking to the media.
He says employees not terminated have been paid by email transfers, of which he has a record.
"My bookkeeper, the banks and myself have complete and clear records, and I assure you that these claims are just that … bogus, vexatious and unjustifiable claims."
In rambling, invective-filled emails to The Spectator that mirror his behaviour on social media, he repeatedly threatens to take legal action against those speaking out against him, along with the newspaper. He also says he will post the names of complaining former employees online so that future employers can judge their character.
He says: "Real issues and complaints go to the labor (sic) board not the local rag."
His website was shut down, he says, because it was "hacked by a malicious former webmaster …" He claims to have launched legal action. The Spectator was unable to track down the webmaster.
DesRoches says contractors not paid didn't provide the work or supplies as agreed.
"I have a very high standard and I will accept nothing less."
He also says he has solid business relationships with many suppliers and contractors. The Spectator contacted the names he provided. Those who responded said they had conducted only minimal business with DesRoches and payment was required at the time of purchase.
Another, a contractor, declined to act as a reference, saying, "I don't have a lot of nice things to say. I'm not going to lie for him."
Haley Sweet handled DesRoches' media and public relations for about six months. The owner of Titian Public Relations Marketing says she's owed something less than $2,000.
"I'm pretty much sure I will die of suffocation before I get paid. I can't hold my breath that long," she said.
More damaging, she says, is being associated with a business owner so unwilling to take advice about responding to criticism or questions about his past. Sweet quit working with DesRoches shortly after the Spectator investigation into his financial background was published.
When she asked to be paid for her services, DesRoches threatened legal action, she says.
"It honestly makes me feel sick that I wanted to help this man grow his business."
At the time, The Spectator documented DesRoches' personal and business financial troubles, four contractors had filed lawsuits claiming they hadn't been paid for work done on the restaurant. In response, DesRoches said the work had been shoddy and he was taking legal action of his own.
Spectator reporter Steve Buist found DesRoches has declared personal bankruptcy, been associated with four corporate bankruptcies, been forced into receivership and faced a long list of lawsuits against him and former businesses.
He said he has been a victim of identity theft.
Former executive chef Kelly Wedekind says he's owed money. DesRoches fired him Sept. 13.
"I can't allow him to do this to other staff," said Wedekind, who says he's got 30 years of experience. "I feel really embarrassed after all these years in the business that I could be taken to this degree."
Interviews with contractors and former employees show a pattern of repeated promises for payment before DesRoches becomes aggressive, issuing profanity-laced messages, complaints about poor work performance and threats to ruin his debtors' reputations on social media.
Ryan Legault, the former sommelier, says DesRoches called the police with allegations of theft against him. (Hamilton police say no charges have been laid against any employee of 28 Lister.)
Legault has filed a complaint with the Ministry of Labour for money he's owed.
Legault says he was hopeful 28 Lister could give him the experience he wanted, but he soon saw red flags. He began work with the restaurant last November and found himself having to advocate for proper treatment of staff and dealing with creditors trying to get their money.
"He ducked and hid. He'd tell people to come in to pick up a cheque and then take off."
Legault, fed up with repeated dates for opening being missed, left in early July. But first, he warned other staff to cut their losses and leave.
He's now taking to social media to distance himself from the restaurant and telling his story on a blog.
But a current server at 28 Lister says DesRoches is "not a bad person" and has always paid him properly. Drew (who didn't want his last name published) also worked for DesRoches for six years at the former La Costa chain.
He said the opening weeks of 28 Lister have had rocky moments, but those are being worked out. "I believe in this and I think it's a great product."
A group of four teenagers who were doormen or busboys told The Spectator they're determined to get their money from DesRoches. They all say they were promised their wages would come in various email money transfers but it never arrives.
They say DesRoches offers plenty of reasons: their Internet service provider is at fault; there are problems with his bank or the receiver's bank; the emails are going into junk mail folders.
Quan Nguyen, 18, believes none of it. He says he's owed about $200 plus tips for his work as a busboy.
"I get email transfers all the time and there is never a problem," he said. "He's trying to sweet talk me out of it, but it's not going work."
All four say they've sent repeated messages and frequently drop in to the restaurant but DesRoches never replies. They talk about waking up repeatedly in the night to check their email for payment to cover their bills.
"I'm in debt because of him," said Suhad Ismail, 17, a fellow busboy.
"I invested my time into this restaurant and got nothing in return. He basically has our money inside his pocket."
One current employee said he got a paycheque paying a tiny fraction of the 70 hours he was owed. All the employees are in the same boat, he says.
Why do they stay? The Spectator asked.
"Despair, I think."
Employees can file complaints for unpaid wages at the employment standards branch of the Ministry of Labour. Workers can also call 1-800-531-5551.
Employment lawyer Ed Canning says it's easy to file a complaint and it doesn't require a lawyer.
"If, out of a single complaint they get a sniff there is a broader problem or repeated violations, they will do an audit."
It is the employer's obligation to prove employees have been paid, said Canning. That includes proper tracking of hours and providing proper pay stubs.
"My advice to employees who aren't getting paid is usually the same: Quit wasting time and get out. Things aren't going to get better."
At this time, there is no database of upheld complaints that could warn a potential employee about a business's practices, says a ministry spokesperson.
mmacleod@thespec.com
905-526-3408 | @meredithmacleod
http://www.thespec.com/news-story/49...they-are-owed/
Prev
Linear Mode
