Some shocking news on the local restaurant scene broke over the weekend. In a release, Home Wine Kitchen co-owners Cassy Vires and Josh Renbarger announced they would be closing the restaurant “due to circumstances outside their control” on December 31.
We caught up with Vires this week and asked her to elaborate. “It’s because of the lawsuit,” she said, referring to a petition filed by two former employees earlier this year alleging illegal tip pooling.
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According to Missouri law, a restaurant server’s tips may be pooled, but tip sharing cannot extend to employees that are not customarily tipped, like managers and back-of-the-house employees. The state has a server’s minimum wage of $3.75, and servers expect to make up the difference in tips. The former employees allege they were forced to share their tips with managers and kitchen staff, who do not customarily receive tips. As a consequence, the plaintiffs are seeking back wages, compensatory, and liquid damages, plus attorney’s fees. (Vires maintains that she and her husband never took a tip and that all tips remained with the staff.)
Such matters are often rife with nuances and lawyers disagree on the interpretation of law. Vires say that she and Renbarger attempted to settle, but their offer was refused. As a result, the couple felt that closing the restaurant was their only recourse because the estimated cost of the lawsuit was “beyond what the restaurant could afford,” says Vires.
“We are disappointed to learn of the decision of the owners of Home Wine Kitchen to close the restaurant,” Russ Riggan, attorney for the plaintiffs, said of the news. “The restaurant and its owners violated the law by failing to pay their wait staff minimum wage. It is unfortunate that the restaurant and its owners are unwilling to meet their legal obligations and pay their employees the wages they earned. This scenario is precisely the reason why the law imposes personal and individual liability on restaurant owners/managers for wage violations: to prevent owners/managers from merely closing a restaurant to avoid payment. We will continue to pursue the wage claims of our clients, and we look forward to continued discussions with the restaurant owners about a possible resolution of the claims.”
Vires insists that “the allegations that we paid our staff less than minimum wage are false. We feel strongly that our policies were well within the legal parameters, and we would ask that people remember that allegations are just that—allegations.”
Even before the lawsuit was filed in February of this year, Vires told us, “We did what we thought was right and fair,” referring to the allocation of tips. “We didn’t do it to make up wages,” she said, “we saw it as an exercise in team-building.”
In 2013, Vires and Renbarger opened Table, a critically acclaimed restaurant that boasted a whimsical menu and primarily communal seating. Table closed in March, after a nine-month run. At the time, Vires indicated the closing was a result of the tip-pooling lawsuit, but hoped to keep Home Wine Kitchen open.
A jury trial has been scheduled for next month.
So how will the remainder of this month play out?
“We’re fortunate that we don’t have to stop what we love to do today,” Vires said. “We still have several weeks left to enjoy our customers, staff, and family.” They intend to take the high road by making sure employees, vendors, and taxes get paid, she adds. (Less scrupulous operators have been known to close the doors and disappear in the dead of night.)
When asked about the future, Vires didn’t hesitate: “I really don’t know what’s next,” she said. “I never thought that this would be what’s next.”
A LOOK BACK
The Maplewood restaurant opened to rave reviews in 2011 and was responsible for a number of restaurant firsts in St. Louis:
· It was named SLM’s Restaurant of the Year for 2012, after less than a year in business. No other restaurant has been so honored.
· Vires changed Home Wine Kitchen’s menu completely every week, vowing never to repeat an item, except for once a year when a special anniversary week menu was created from a list of favorites submitted by the customers.
· Renbarger’s wine list was unique in that all wines were “line-priced”—glasses were $8, bottles were $30—so customers could order the wine they liked and not choose based on their budget.
· The restaurant launched No Menu Mondays, a slow-night stimulus where Vires created a special menu every week, even tagging the evening with a slogan: “Your mom doesn’t give you a menu…so neither do we.”
· The Riverfront Times named Vires “Best Chef” in 2013.
· In 2014, Vires was nominated for Food & Wine‘s Best New Chef: Midwest. She was also nominated in 2012 and 2013.
