AUSTIN, Texas — A former employee of a now-closed Austin restaurant claims that the owner skipped town without paying his employees what they were owed.
Benita Martinez, who worked as the private event coordinator and a floor manager for Simi Estiatorio, has created a GoFundMe to help raise money for employees who she said were left without their full paychecks.
On the GoFundMe page, Martinez said that during South by Southwest, the restaurant – which was located at 601 Congress Ave. – ran short-staffed with an average of three servers, one bartender and one manager every night. She said after the festival, management decided to revert to the employees' previous schedule and close on Sunday, March, 20, and Monday, March 21.
Martinez said during that time, owner George Theodosiou was "fully MIA." Martinez said no one had seen him aside from a quick visit to eat in the main dining room on Saturday, March 19.
Martinez said on Wednesday, March 23, "it was confirmed he skipped town and would not be returning." She said that she and other employees also learned they were being evicted by their investors' property management company, ECR.
Some employees, like Martinez's brother, Jacob, are left hold checks to an account he said is closed.
"The check itself was a little over four grand," said Jacob. "So I was really banking on it. That whole SXSW was very gruesome and tiring."
Google reports the restaurant is permanently closed. Google showed rave reviews until days ago when reviewers said the restaurant closed and "failed to pay staff."
Martinez said that Simi Estiatorio management was able to retrieve paychecks from their accountant and staff was informed that the restaurant would no longer be open and they should pick up their final checks. However, Martinez said some employees did not receive the full amount they were owed in those checks and others haven't received their checks at all.
"Very quickly the news started rolling in that the account had insufficient funds, only 5 employees have been able to receive funds from their checks," Martinez writes on the GoFundMe page. "Half of our employees have been unable to retrieve their paychecks because the property management company said they know for a fact there are no funds in the account, while this is true I still think they have the right to those checks. Yesterday 03/24 one of the servers attempted to cash their check, only to be notified that the account had been closed."
Martinez said that none of the kitchen staff has been paid and the majority of the front-of-house staff has not been paid either. She wrote that lawyers have confirmed that because Simi Estiatorio was an LLC, or limited liability company, owned by Theodosiou, "no legal action would resolve payroll recovery."
Martinez said the accountant disclosed the necessary amount to cover payroll, which is reflected in the GoFundMe's $50,000 goal. As of just after noon on Monday, March 28, it has raised just under $5,000.
KVUE has reached out to the owner for a statement. This article will be updated if one is received.
What you can do if your employer hasn't paid you
The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) has a page on its website detailing how to submit a wage claim under the Texas Payday Law, which assists employees in the recovery of unpaid wages. The TWC says that a wage claim must be submitted no later than 180 days after the date the claimed wages originally became due for payment.
The department says if part of your unpaid wages were due within 180 days, submit a claim only for that part. TWC also says that your claim should identify each type of unpaid wage claimed and how you determined the amount due. TWC cannot investigate a wage claim if the employer filed for bankruptcy.
Learn more about how you can get and submit a wage claim form and how the wage claim process works.
Britny Eubank on social media: Twitter
PEOPLE ARE ALSO READING: