A Michigan restaurant decided to close early because too many customers were behaving like ‘cocky jerks’.
Larah Moore, the general manager of East Park Tavern in Charlevoix, revealed that staff members had been left in tears because of punters’ behaviour, and she made the decision to shut up shop because she was tired of seeing her team being ‘beaten down every day’.
The early closure came amid the Venetian Festival, an eight-day carnival featuring musical performances, parades and fireworks a’plenty.
The festival sees the town fill out with tourists, and although it means a boom for local businesses, customers’ antics became too much to bear.
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In one incident, guests decided not to listen to East Park Tavern staff’s instructions that they’d have to wait 30 minutes for a table, and instead decided to sprawl out over two tables and demand service.
Moore said that was just one of many quarrels that occurred during the week, so she decided to let staff go home and hang up a sign on the restaurant’s door that read: “Due to the mistreatment of our servers our kitchen is closed.”
Moore shared a photo of the sign on Facebook alongside a lengthy caption explaining her decision.
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It read in part: “I've worked in downtown Charlevoix most of my adult life during Venetian. It's usually great, busy, but fun and worthwhile.
“I'm so incredibly disappointed and embarrassed by the Fudgies [tourists] we have this year.
"My staff took a BEATING all week. Last night was our last straw. Too many rude comments. Too many arrogant individuals acting like they can throw money at us to get their way. Too many cocky jerks.
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“No one gets to treat my staff like trash. They are the absolute shining stars in my life and I love and appreciate the hell out of the few of them that I am lucky enough to have. If you push your servers, watch them start to push back.”
Speaking to TODAY about the restaurant’s closure, Moore explained: “It was just a week of my staff working doubles.
"So that’s 11am to 10pm. And just being beaten down every day by the amount of people that were coming in, plus just the disrespect people were giving to them.”
She also shared: “I had come downstairs from the third floor to our main dining room, and one of my servers was breaking down in the server station.
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“She was crying. And I just kind of took my kitchen manager to the side, and we both decided we had enough.”
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Topics: US News, Food and Drink
Aisha Nozari