"Aggressive Lawsuits" Forcing Café Gratitude to Close All NorCal Locations, L.A. Restaurant Not Affected [UPDATED]

Photo of Café Gratitude grub by wrestlingentropy via Flickr

Diners who frequent Café Gratitude on Larchmont may have no idea that the parent company who runs several locations of the vegan eatery in the Bay Area has been mired for years in legal challenges, including controversial allegations the business owners require employees to participate in an alleged cult.

Today, Café Gratitude co-owner Terces Engelhart announced the pending closure or sale of all Northern California locations in face of what are being called "aggressive lawsuits," according to SFist.

The lawsuits in question stem from former Gratitude employees who left the restaurant with a bad taste in their mouths. East Bay Express published a 2009 article that claimed, among other things, employees were fired for not attending Landmark Forum classes.

Landmark Forum, a personal betterment program, has long been accused of engendering cult-like behavior.

When Café Gratitude announced in June 2010 they were opening up in Los Angeles, one aspect of how Landmark factors into the operation of the restaurants was described as follows: "Managers are basically forced to take seminars and pay for half of them (legal? Probably not), and the manager at the Berkeley branch says that "Café Gratitude wouldn't exist if it wasn't for Landmark."

Is it so wrong that Café Gratitude subscribes to the teachings and principles of Landmark? Lawsuits filed against the business in NorCal say, well, yeah. However, it's not just the Landmark issue that have precipitated lawsuits. Other allegations included in legal claims against the eatery include that employees are denied proper breaks and are forced into a questionable tip pooling system that benefits off-site employees.

And those lawsuits are what Englehart says is forcing them to pack it up:

Although we believe that we have done nothing wrong and our policies are completely legal, it will cost us too much money to defend them in court. Despite telling the attorneys that brought the lawsuits that the current structure and resources of Café Gratitude are insufficient to sustain and defend our community, they have refused to give up and are forcing us to close.

For their LA operation, which opened in March of this year, Café Gratitude's NorCal owners Matthew and Terces Engelhart have teamed up with Christopher and Lisa Bonbright under a separate LLC to run the only SoCal outpost of the eatery that serves raw and vegan eats to plebes and celebs. The menu items are named as affirmations, forcing diners to assert things like "I am extraordinary" in order to get a meat-free BLT on their plate. In the closure announcement today, the Los Angeles Café Gratitude was not mentioned, for which many may well be grateful.

UPDATE 12/18/11
Landmark has provided us with the following response to this article:

Landmark Education is a mainstream, globally recognized personal and professional growth, training and development company whose programs, conducted in a traditional business conference setting, are offered in 19 countries around the world. While LAist says we may have at times been characterized as engendering cult-like behavior, there is overwhelming, highly credible evidence from numerous top independent cult experts from around the world who clearly state that this is absolutely not the case. For example, Dr. Raymond D. Fowler, Ph.D., retired CEO of the American Psychological Association, stated his personal opinion and not the opinion of the American Psychological Association, based on his participation in The Landmark Forum and his more than 40 years as a psychologist: “In my opinion, The Landmark Forum is not a cult or anything like a cult, and I do not see how any reasonable, responsible person could say that it is.” While there has been a small number of legitimate journalists and publications that have erroneously said otherwise, after research they have immediately corrected their statements. Along with Café Gratitude, numerous highly respected companies and government institutions from around the world include Landmark’s programs among those they offer for their employees’ training and development. Harris Interactive®, one of the largest and most respected market research firms in the world, conducted an independent survey on behalf of Landmark of health professionals and educators (including doctors, psychiatrists, psychologists, nurses, teachers and academicians) who have taken Landmark programs; the results show that an overwhelming 94 percent agree that Landmark’s programs are professionally conducted and provide great value. To date, more than 40,000 health professionals and educators have participated in Landmark’s programs.
--Linda Howard, General Counsel, Landmark Education

Contact the author of this article or email tips@laist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Lindsay William-Ross in Food on November 29, 2011 12:30 PM 0 Comments

Comments [rss]

stalkinghorse

For more info, what Yelp says about The Landmark Forum.

carlosdc3

I've been frequenting vegetarian restaurants in LA since 1989, and living foods or raw food restaurants for over 5 years. I know them all, from the most expensive and fancy, like Juliano's Raw Planet in Santa Monica, to the most simple ones.
When Cafe Gratitude came to LA, my wife and I went to try it. We wrote a review in our blog. Our experience was really great. The food is good, we always eat the raw food; desserts are REALLY GOOD! Not the best, though really good. Prices are the best in town.The environment is energetic, good people, and the bathrooms are the CLEANEST IN TOWN! I can even eat my dessert in the bathroom, no kidding!I understand some people do not like to be asked the question of the day. It does not bother me at all; it's a really nice challenge for me.In my humble opinion, some people feel uncomfortable when a nice and smiling waitress ask them: "What are you breaking through?", or "What inspires you?", or "What makes you thrive?", because they can not come up with a positive answer. They are not up to the challenge.Waitresses always ask you first: "Do you want to hear the question of the day?" very nicely, not pushing it, and as Miguel Ruiz says in "The Four Agreements", "Instead of assuming, it's better to ask. You have the right to ask, and the other person have the right to say yes or not". Nothing wrong in Cafe Gratitude waitresses asking you a nice, challenging question.Regarding Landmark, it is not a cult. This the definition of cult:cult/kəlt/
Noun:A system of religious veneration and devotion directed toward a particular figure or object.A relatively small group of people having religious beliefs or practices regarded by others as strange or sinister.and Cafe Gratitude is not even close to have that definition attached, not even assumed it!Look around you more honestly and you will find real cults here in LA, places where members are being brain washed, and forced to disconnect with family, friends and loved ones because they do not belong to the same organization :-).This is my assumption: I'm not surprised that a successful vegetarian and living foods restaurant is being viciously attacked with frivolous law suites. It just happen when our government bu means of the FDA, Dept of Health, LAPD, and other official agencies, raided Rawesome, a private membership food club, on August this year. We were there covering the government assault to the living foods place in Venice, California.I still have to do some more research on what really happened with Cafe Gratitude in northern California...I'll be back ;-)Carlos

carlosdc3

My wife and I go to Cafe Gratitude LA every week. I interviewed Cary Moiser, one of the managers, Google "Cafe Gratitude came to LA! We are Grateful for It" to find it, and you can judge for your self what Cafe Gratitude LA is. Even better go there.
I understand some people do not like the question of the day (today was "What are you breaking through?"), it does not bother me, actually it's a nice challenge. In my humble opinion, does people do not like being challenged by that question. I got to go to a cello concert with my wife and adorable daughter, I'l continue later...

LulzyHatrack

I used to frequent a couple of restaurants - one macrobiotic and the other vegan - that I loved for their great food and reasonable prices, when I lived in another state. When I later moved to SF I was excited to find Café Gratitude just a few blocks from my house. My excitement, alas, was short lived: mediocre food, outrageously high prices, and a heaping side of shallow, self-serving nonsense. Blech. No thanks.

THANE2020

I just wish we had EST back again.

Funkdok

Five pro-Landmark comments? Hmmm.

Tree

And what does it mean on articles where there are 20 anti-landmark comments in a row?

HeartMan3

The
facts are that one suit alleges the individual was not given legally mandated
breaks and that a tip-pooling practice robbed her of the bulk of her tips
earned during server shifts. The other lawsuit alleges another individual was
paid as a salaried employee, when he should have been paid as an hourly
employee, and as a result he is owed overtime pay. Neither of the suits have
anything to do with these employees being forced to take any classes, because
they weren't.

It is unfortunate this
article contains inaccurate information, that these two allegations couldn’t
have been settled without legal action and that an establishment that is making
such valuable contributions to their local communities has to close due to the exorbitant
costs of a law suit.

.

Barbara R Saunders

And how exactly do you settle such things "without legal action?"

If your employer is doing something illegal, you can inform them you know your rights and ask them to stop. If they refuse, then "legal action" is your only recourse. The only person who can end it without legal action is the employer - by stopping the illegal behavior and settling back claims.

Expecting the employee to sacrifice their legal rights on the altar of the business is unreasonable. Certainly not the direction I think of when thinking about evolved, more loving, caring business!

I once worked for an employer with a central office in SF and a site in Oakland. They had a practice of delivering paychecks to Oakland two days following payday. SF employees got their paycheck on-site on payday. Any employee could pick up their check in SF on payday.

After people made informal complaints to management, an Oakland employee reported them to the labor board: it is illegal not to deliver (or mail) paychecks on payday or to require employees to travel at their time and cost to get their paychecks.

To their credit, my employer DID NOT WHINE. They arranged to get the paychecks to Oakland by paying a messenger service to deliver them. No lawsuit. Problem solved.

danapointdad

landmark education is a fabulous company that offers incredible courses... and there is a great video introduction that does a fantastic job of describing the entry level course, the formu, at their site, www.landmarkeducation.com ... it is not and has never been a cult, and I believe they address this on their site as well...

cafe gratitude is actually the result of a project matthew and terces took on in a landmark course...

I would not think that it would be legal to force someone to take and pay for all or part of a course as a condition of employment... it could be termed training and be a requirement, but should be paid for in its entirety, I think.

I love both companies, and am sorry to hear the sfo restaurants are closing... very sorry indeed.

also, nobody is "forced" to speak an affirmation to order food at the restaurant, this article is a bit ludicrous...

reporters need to brush up on their ethics and be more responsible for the facts, it is tiring to see how manupulative and agenda driven the "news" is these days... sigh... just my opinion...

danapointdad

haha, the formu... I meant the forum, of course...
cheers, everyone!

youhavegottobekidding1

There are multiple successful business who put their employees through the Landmark Forum specifically so they function better as a team and company. Taking a class at Landmark Education is voluntary just like enrolling in a class at a community college is voluntary. I highly doubt creating a more positive and productive workplace by having employees participate in the Landmark Forum is the reason they are closing. Sounds more like they are being driven out of business due to frivolous lawsuits from a few disgruntled employees upset about tips. Last time I checked getting tipped by customers was only a courtesy for service not required by law. Maybe not allowing customers to tip would be the solution. Problems solved!

Barbara R Saunders

There are businesses (some coffee shops I frequent) that do not allow tips. Then the employer must pay enough or otherwise appeal to employees that people want to work there anyway. No foul in that, and it's legal. If McDonald's, a coal mining company,
or BP decide they want to break the law, no one defends them. What's the
difference here?

Tipped is a courtesy to the person who gets tipped. It isn't the business owner's to use for team-building or compensating other workers.

Lawyers don't generally take small-time cases from near-minimum wage employees if the case has little chance of prevailing. This is not like suing a rock star for publicity for your book deal.

stalkinghorse

A couple points for the above poster:

-If you look closely, the actual lawsuits are about tip pooling.

-Having read the stuff about the Landmark Forum, it appears most employees aren't required to take the courses, only managers, who are partially paid for, and told up front that this is the case. While I don't particularly agree with this practice, I doubt it's illegal.

HDScorpio

Even if they close the locations the company itself and the owners still exist therefore they can still be sued for past actions that aggrieved employees.

rjhemedes

Its illegal to force employees to take outside courses/training without reimbursing them for it. I don't think it would be an issue if the company fully paid for the Landmark forum courses for their employees.

The whole tipping set-up also seems very fishy. It looks like the company did the opposite of what they preached in regards to how they treated their employees and karma is a bitch.

If you treat your employees unfairly, then they will have no feelings of gratitude towards their employer.

danapointdad

actually, the majority of the employees are quite happy to serve and support the company and the customers... karma there is pretty okeedokee, I assure you... the company is heart centered and if you ever go to one you will most likely get this... it is truly about service and love there...

stalkinghorse

While Cafe Gratitude may be an unusual company, the story here doesn't seem unique at all: it's the usual story about the difficulty of running a small business in today's litigious society. I don't have a position about whether tip pooling is appropriate under California law, but I do know that as a small business you have to be very careful, and probably get insurance, because sooner or later, somebody is likely to sue you for something.

cold_war_ice

You'd be surprised at how the vast majority of successful and incredibly sane people have never been involved with Landmark Forum.

Chrissy

If the business person is forcing their managers to go to Landmark, they totally missed the point of Landmark. Hell, the first thing in the starter course they ask if you are being compelled to attend this class, please go to the back and get a refund. Also, if you are requiring an employee to take some course, you should cover the costs, not force the employee.

Darren Moore

Any employer that offers to pay for part of Landmark Education is doing their employees a great service. Requiring employees to attend may be questionable under the law. Ideally it would be paid for by the company, but employees are most likely to benefit to a higher degree if they put their own dollars into it (you get what you pay for!) You'd be surprised at how many successful and incredibly sane people have attended Landmark courses. I don't agree with Landmark's philosophy on bringing referrals and future attendees, otherwise it's an excellent organization helping people to get and give more! Enough of the cult accusations.
bcorporation.net is helping to add transparency for business that treat employees well, all businesses can do better. Restaurants serving local, chemical free, non-gmo food regardless of vegan, vegetarian or omnivore, I think these are the real issues facing the health of individuals and the planet.