Workers were informed they were part of a family at Next Door, a community-oriented, "sustainable" restaurant franchise founded by billionaire Kimbal Musk.
Musk is the younger
brother of multibillionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk and comes from an affluent
family. He is a self-proclaimed philanthropist and restaurateur who is
recognized for his characteristic cowboy hat. The Family Fund, however, was
established by Next Door employees. The fund was supposed to be a pool of money
they donated from their paychecks that would be there for them in times of
need.
Then came the crisis.
And the Family Fund was nowhere to be seen.
Next Door advised
employees on March 16 that it will temporarily shut down operations for two
weeks as it dealt with the commercial implications of the coronavirus. Managers
were advised that they would have to endure wage cutbacks. Hourly workers would
receive no pay at all, despite the fact that they were promised paid sick time,
which they never received. According to former staff, many people applied for
donations from the Family Fund.
Reggie Moore, the
former head chef of the Indianapolis Next Door and one of seven former Next
Door employees who talked with HuffPost, described what transpired next as
"very dodgy."
The Family Fund was
altering five days after the short halt, according to management. "We are
in the midst of changing our Family Fund program in order to better assist our
employees," states an email sent to employees on March 21 that HuffPost
examined.
Employees will receive a $400 stipend within one to two days under the updated program, according to the email. "Please note that if you have already applied to Family Fund, you will need to re-apply through the new application link," there was a catch printed in bold and highlighted.
Employees, on the
other hand, were never made aware of the connection. Approximately 100 of them
were laid off just two days later, on March 23. In Indianapolis, Memphis, the
Cleveland area, and Highlands Ranch, Colorado, Musk closed four of the
restaurant's 11 sites.
Some employees were
astonished by the timing of the closures, which occurred midway through the
"temporary" two-week break. Many people inquired about the Family
Fund.
They were advised
that this was just for current staff. In an email to one employee in Memphis
who inquired about the money, a Next Door human relations official said,
"This has always been a rule of the program." "Of course, the
closing of these sites has hurt us all, and we are here to help you in any way
we can."
Restaurant workers,
some of whom earned the tipped minimum wage of $2.13 an hour, received no
severance pay. Many employees have not been compensated for unused sick days.
"It's a
betrayal," she says. "It appears to be really devious," a former
Next Door manager told Huff Post.
"The Americana
here gives me goose bumps," said Kimbal Musk, a South African native, when
he initially launched his restaurant in Memphis, telling The New York Times.
Graceland is a place I've visited twice. It's insane how friendly the community
has been."
Former employees in
Memphis reported that working at Musk's restaurant was a terrific experience up
to the end.
"Next Door was
the finest job I've ever had in the culinary sector." "By far,"
claimed a former back-of-the-house employee, who praised the paid sick leave
and teamwork among the employees. He declined to be identified because he was concerned
about his privacy.
But how did it end?
"Wow, it was chilly." After the incident, he and his partner, who
also worked at Next Door, both applied to the Family Fund.
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