Cafe Gitane’s Nolita eating room.
Photograph: Yadid Levy/Anzenberger/Redux
In its Nineteen Nineties heyday, Cafe Gitane was an impossibly hip place the place it wasn’t unusual to run into David Bowie or Helena Christensen throughout brunch. Opened by Luc Lévy, a former cabdriver from Paris by the use of Casablanca, the Nolita cafeteria remained an everyday cease for celebrities — sightings of Michelle Williams and Spike Jonze have been reported into the 2010s — in addition to, as this journal as soon as put it, “different individuals with a lot of free time to steal glances at one another.” Its luster had light lately, however final December the Instances declared the “intimidatingly cool canteen” was “again on the scene once more.” (The headline labeled the restaurant “a vanguard of cool.”) The event was a celebration for a ebook in regards to the café written by its younger basic supervisor, Isobel Lola Brown, whom Lévy credited with bringing a brand new era of younger prospects — presumably with a lot of free time to steal glances — again to the restaurant. One visitor even went as far as to boldly proclaim that “Gitane is the brand new Fanelli’s.”
It appears it won’t be on the scene for much longer: At each the unique Mott Road location and a second outpost in Vinegar Hill, present and former workers allege Lévy has uncared for to pay them. They report falling behind three to 5 paychecks — and have heard that a few of their co-workers are owed much more. The scenario is hardly a secret: Amongst employees, and with Lévy, they’ve talked and texted in regards to the cash they’re owed, a few of which, it’s been mentioned, runs as much as tens of hundreds of {dollars}. After they do receives a commission, workers say the cash is available in dribs and drabs.
It was solely after her ebook’s publication, Brown tells me, that she came upon in regards to the restaurant’s alleged monetary troubles, which unspooled after she mentioned she realized a co-worker was owed hundreds. She finally confronted Lévy over the money owed and stop the restaurant. “Gitane was at all times such a vibrant place with unimaginable individuals. It’s actually unhappy all of this occurred, and it was actually painful to look at my co-workers and pals be mistreated and afraid to ask for his or her cash,” says Brown, who began working on the restaurant as a teen. “I attempted to face up for individuals, however was additionally coping with it myself, you understand. I additionally beloved Gitane a lot and was actually heartbroken to go away on that word — and I felt actually blindsided.”
Lévy didn’t reply to my requests to speak, however a number of different individuals say the scenario has change into untenable. “It’s not my first time working in a restaurant, however I may form of describe it because the Brandy Melville of eating places, if you understand what I imply,” says Bridgette, who requested to go by a pseudonym as a result of she says she remains to be owed cash. (A number of extra workers requested to talk anonymously for comparable causes.) “There was loads of favoritism, and the entire thing about being a cute Gitane woman and no matter. That’s all enjoyable, however it’s not enjoyable whenever you run out of contacts and it’s a must to put on your glasses, and then you definately get moved to the Brooklyn location and also you make much less in suggestions.”
One other mentioned that as issues went downhill — earlier than Lévy allegedly fell behind on checks totally — pandemonium would accompany paydays as employees would fetch their checks from the workplace. “He was writing checks for the entire employees, they usually have been all bouncing, so individuals have been making an attempt to scramble and money their checks first as a result of it was such a fucking mess,” this worker claims. (Others say their checks bounced too.) One former barista says that when he complained about not getting paid a few month into the job, co-workers have been nonchalant and never shocked. One says it had taken months — plural — to receives a commission.
Some individuals have stop, however different workers have continued to work regardless of allegedly being owed hundreds of {dollars}. Why? There’s loads of hypothesis among the many former employees: Gitane has at all times had a popularity for hiring largely younger, engaging ladies — one ex-employee mentioned that at 26 she was “older” for the place — a few of whom are working their first job. Others from the restaurant guess that the youthful workers get monetary assist from household. “I feel it’s such a unique relationship to cash whenever you’re not like, Oh, fuck, how am I going to feed myself tonight? I don’t have my paycheck,” the previous barista says. “It’s like, Oh, how am I going to purchase my third gram of cocaine tonight if I don’t get my paycheck?”
Nonetheless, others counsel that employees are keen to remain due to Gitane’s popularity as comfortable and funky — although some say even that historical past is hard to reconcile with the present day-to-day. “Possibly again within the day once they mentioned that, no matter, Bowie was going there, perhaps it had some capital, however now it’s simply wealthy Realtors who reside in Soho and vacationers and all these individuals appearing prefer it’s some massive deal,” the ex-worker tells me. “Not that I’m the arbiter of what’s an enormous deal. It’s simply humorous. The hiring course of is so selective, and it’s a shitty fucking restaurant that doesn’t pay you. It’s so silly.” (Earlier this yr, sufficient allegedly overdue paychecks piled up that there was speak amongst some workers of a strike, although the concept met some resistance, particularly amongst youthful co-workers.)
“At any time when I inform individuals I labored there, they’re at all times like, Oh, that’s so iconic,” Bridgette says. “A little bit little bit of me is like, Yeah, it was iconic, however it’s not iconic to not receives a commission.”
In actuality, paying employees seems to be solely considered one of Gitane’s issues. Because the 2010s, the café has confronted a number of lawsuits from distributors, service suppliers like Con Edison, and landlords. In 2011, the owner of the Mott Road location sued, finally profitable a judgment — seven years later — of $810,110.45 in unpaid hire and different prices, curiosity, and legal professional charges. In 2015, a landlord at 270 Lafayette Road additionally sued after Lévy defaulted on hire; the edges settled, although Lévy by no means opened a enterprise within the location.
Purveyors have taken authorized motion as properly: The specialty meals distributor Dairyland sued for $94,995.89 in 2016. Ridge Produce sued each the Mott Road and a Jane Lodge offshoot to recoup unpaid invoices, profitable judgments of $82,313.60 and $97,483.55, respectively, in 2019. In each instances, Lévy agreed to repay every of the money owed to Ridge Produce in month-to-month installments of $1,000, which can take till 2027. He has additionally been slapped with state tax warrants, together with one for $239,205.33 (in 2017) and one other for $382,781.72 (in 2021).
In October 2020, Gitane was sued as soon as once more by its Mott Road landlord for $474,216.76 in unpaid hire and late charges relationship again to Could 2019. Once more, Lévy settled. The subsequent day, he signed a lease for an area in Purple Hook. Shortly after that, in March 2021, Gitane’s social media introduced the café would increase to Venice Seaside, California, too. Neither location has opened but.
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