Acclaimed Washington restaurant that charges $225 for dinner agrees to $1.37m wage theft payout to 137 staff: Forced workers to buy kitchen’s ingredients with their OWN money
- Restaurant workers at the foodie hotspot The Willows Inn north of Seattle have been awarded $1.37 million in back wages following a class action lawsuit
- It’s the second time in a year that the restaurant has been forced to pay former employees
- One former chef said that ‘foraging’ in the wild and in grocery stores for ingredients was considered part of the job
- That chef said that staff were not reimbursed for supplies that they bought for the restaurant
- This comes after the restaurant’s head chef faced allegations of sexual harassment, racism and homophobia
- The Willows in charges $500 for dinner for two – or $740 if you want a wine-pairing included
A now-notorious Seattle restaurant garlanded with praise by critics has settled a $1.37m wage theft lawsuit with 137 ex-staffers after making them supply its kitchen’s ingredients with their own cash.
In 2021, The Willows Inn on Lummi Island, 80 miles north of Seattle, settled with employees for $600,000 over wage disputes. And this week, they have agreed to pay $1.37 million to another group of employees who had similar complaints.
One of the plaintiffs, Julia Olmos, who worked at the restaurant between June 2018 and December 2019, said in the lawsuit that on multiple occasions she was forced to pick up kale while off the clock.
She says that she ultimately paid for the grocery store-bought vegetables with her own money. Staff were also asked to ‘forage’ for wild ingredients, also on their own time.
Olmos said that being asked to get ingredients was considered part of the job among the staff. In addition to buying food, she said that staff would clock 18-hour days foraging for ingredients with no pay.
The Willows Inn is owned by award-winning chef Blaine Wetzel (pictured) and Tim McEvoy
When she attempted to be reimbursed for the purchases and work, no payment was forthcoming. Other staff suffered with working unpaid shifts that were referred to as ‘working interviews.’
The exclusive restaurant requires a $50 deposit per person for dinner reservations and charges ‘the menu price of $225 per guest for a no-show or late cancellation.’ If patrons decide to partake in the wine pairing – at $120 per person – dinner at the Pacific Northwest eatery could easily set a couple back more than $600.
The Willows Inn is owned by award-winning chef Blaine Wetzel and Tim McEvoy.
In April 2021, the New York Times reported that despite advertising that their produce was locally sourced, much of it actually came from chain grocery stores.
That article also alleged a litany of abuse allegedly perpetrated by Wetzel, including the use of racist, sexist and homophobic slurs against his employees.
The embattled restaurant is situated on Lummi Island, 80 miles north of Seattle. According to former guests it costs $330 for one night in the Honeysuckle room at the inn
One of the plaintiffs, Julia Olmos (front row second from left) who worked at the restaurant between June 2018 and December 2019, said in the lawsuit that on multiple occasions she was forced to pick up kale while off the clock
Wetzel maintained innocence with regard to the 2021 lawsuit, saying that his lawyers advised him that it would be more expensive to go to court to fight the accusations.
The earlier lawsuit covered employees who worked at the restaurant between July 2014 and December 2017. The most recent lawsuit covers employees who were at the Willows from June 2018 until February 2022. It was filed in March.
When the initial money was paid to plaintiffs in 2021, attorney Greg Wolk said that he heard from then-current employees at the restaurant who said that similar practices were ongoing, reports the Seattle Times.
Wolk told the newspaper: ‘[The Willows Inn] has the capacity to do great things, the food is fantastic. If they would just treat their employees fairly, none of this would be happening.’
In the lawsuit, Olmos also claims that her first two months working at the restaurant went without pay under the impression that she was in an intern program.
The suit reads: ‘Although this was meant to be an educational internship, she was not provided with any educational instruction or training – rather, she simply performed the same duties as other cooks.’
Olmos said that being asked to get ingredients was considered part of the job among the staff. She said other staff ‘went into it being like, “foraging is a part of our job.”‘
The exclusive restaurant requires a $50 deposit per person for dinner reservations and ‘charge the menu price of $225 per guest for a no-show or late cancellation.’
If patrons decide to partake in the wine pairing – at $120 per person – dinner at the Pacific Northwest eatery could easily set a couple back more than $600
In the lawsuit, Olmos also claims that her first two months working at the restaurant went without pay under the impression that she was in an intern program
Following the New York Times report detailing Wetzel’s alleged abuse, protesters regularly descended on the restaurant, according to KGMI.
Signs held by protesters included: ‘Take Sexism off the Menu’ and ‘Racism is not a Local Ingredient.’
Olmos told the New York Times in 2021 that she was forced to cut scallops in a way to make them appear more valuable.
She said that women in the kitchens were regularly sexually harassed, and their work was ignored. The Times piece states that in the ten years that the restaurant had been open, no woman had been promoted.
In total, 35 former staff members came forward to accuse Wetzel of creating a ‘nightmarish’ work environment.
In April 2021, the New York Times reported that despite advertising that their produce was locally sourced, much of it actually came from chain grocery stores. That article also alleged a litany of abuse allegedly perpetrated by Wetzel (left) including the use of racist, sexist and homophobic slurs against his employees
‘Lummi Island 16 meant that you were available for sex, and that any kind of creepy and predatory behavior was fine,’ said 21-year-old Sarah Letchworth, who started working at the restaurant when she was 15
Female employees who grew up on Lummi Island described how kitchen workers would allegedly pressure teenage girls for sex, touch them inappropriately and provide them with drugs and alcohol so they would be compliant.
The men, they said, would constantly harass teenage employees from the island with sexual overtures and innuendos and pressured them to stay after work to party, where they would encourage them to do drugs or drink alcohol.
The workers alleged that Wetzel was to blame for the toxic atmosphere.
Wetzel denied most of the allegations made in the New York Times article.
‘Lummi Island 16 meant that you were available for sex, and that any kind of creepy and predatory behavior was fine,’ said 21-year-old Sarah Letchworth, who started working at the restaurant when she was 15.
Three years later, she said, Wetzel offered to drive her home from a party but instead took her to his house.
He refused to take her home unless she did rounds of shots with him, she recounted, and she complied. Wetzel then drove her home when she was drunk.
But the sexual harassment did not stop as the teenagers got older, the women claim.
They said Wetzel and other managers would order them to lose weight and get manicures and eyelash extensions at their own expense, but then blocked them from promotions.
The New York Times reported that none of the women who worked in the kitchen had been promoted to sous-chef or chef de cuisine, and the two that Wetzel identified to the Times as having been promoted to sous-chefs said they never held that job.
Restaurant manager Reid Johnson told the newspaper at the time: ‘We are deeply saddened to learn that some former employees shared concerns about our business.’
According to former employees Wetzel and other managers would order them to lose weight and get manicures and eyelash extensions at their own expense, but then blocked them from promotions
Olmos(right) told the New York Times in 2021 that she was forced to cut scallops in a way to make them appear more valuable. She said that women in the kitchens were regularly sexually harassed, and their work was ignored. The Times piece states that in the ten years that the restaurant had been open, no woman had been promoted
Female employees have said men working at the restaurant would constantly harass teenage employees from the island with sexual overtures and innuendos and pressured them to stay after work to party, where they would encourage them to do drugs or drink alcohol
21-year-old Sarah Letchworth, who started working at the restaurant when she was 15, said Wetzel offered to drive her home from a party but instead took her to his house. He refused to take her home unless she did rounds of shots with him
He went on: ‘Our goal is for anyone who works at The Willows to think of us as the most kind, caring, generous and talented people that they have ever worked with and that The Willows was the best job they ever had.’
Johnson also said: ‘If we are missing that mark in any way, we must improve.’
The US Department of Labor meanwhile fined the Willows Inn nearly $150,000 for requiring workers to work for free during a trial period and for paying as little as $50 per week.
The restaurant defended the practice as being part of an entry-level program. They have since discontinued the program.
There could be further trouble ahead with the Seattle Times reporting that there are other pending lawsuits being brought by former employees over work practices.
In May, US Deputy Secretary of Labor Julie Su pledged in a meeting with the activist group Fight for $15 to crack down on wage theft in the food service industry.
Earlier this year, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, chair of the House Appropriations Committee, introduced the Wage Theft Prevention and Wage Recovery Act in an attempt to more aggressively pursue lost wages for workers.
In 2021, the Labor Department recovered nearly $35 million in lost wages in the food service industry.
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